The London Olympics are over, and the Paralympics are coming up (get tickets now—does anyone want to miss seeing the next Oscar Pistorius rise to glory?)—but what will happen to the city's remaining venues?
City website Londonist has some great videos and overviews of what will happen as the Games area becomes Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The area will be comprised of five districts, named Pudding Mill, Chobham Manor, East Wick, Marshgate Wharf and Sweetwater with private homes (including the former Olympic Village) and a large arts center.
Of the permanent venues, the Velodrome will become the hub of the Lea Valley Velopark, with a BMX racing course and mountain bike trails built around it. The Aquatics Centre will become a local swimming facility, operated by GLL, as well as hosting aquatic events and competitions. The Copper Box will become a local leisure facility and home to the London Lions, a basketball team. A proposal by iCity to transform the press and media buildings into a technology and research center, part of the government’s Tech City corridor stretching from Hoxton to Stratford, is also in negotiation.
As for the Stadium itself, four entities are in the running to take it over, and it will host the World Athletics Championships in 2017.
The park will be opened in two phases, with parts of North Park opening on July 27, 2013, the anniversary of the Olympic opening ceremony. South Plaza, the area encompassing the Orbit and the main stadium, will open in 2014. In the meantime, we love the park's new URL: http://noordinarypark.co.uk.