Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park opens to the public

Blackleaf

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The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, east London, has opened to the public for the first time since it hosted the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Alongside venues for sport and the arts, London's newest park features interactive water fountains and an adventure playground.

Visitors can go up the 375ft-high (114.5m) ArcelorMittal Orbit tower.

It is the biggest park to be opened in London for a century and is almost the size of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens combined, around 560 acres.

It is hoped the attraction will revitalise the neighbourhood and bring tourists to the area.

Visiting the park is free, although there will be charges for some of the attractions.

More than 10,000 new households are planned for the site by 2030.

Current attractions also include the Aquatics Centre and VeloPark, and future ventures are planned with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and University College London (UCL).

The 80,000-capacity Olympic Stadium will become the new home of West Ham United FC in 2016.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park - which acquired its name only after the Games to commemmorate the Diamond Jubilee - boasts 40 miles of waterways and 15 acres of woods, hedgerows and wildlife habitats.

Last week Prince Harry visited the park.

The prince said the site had been "brought to life" by the creativity people had shown.

Prince Harry and London Mayor Boris Johnson toured the site meeting schoolchildren and people behind its development.

The pair made their way across a rope bridge alongside local schoolchildren and took part in a mobility scheme bike ride with disabled people.

During the tour, Harry climbed on to a basket swing and had to hold on as a group of children pushed him as high as possible.

The park straddles four east London boroughs: Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park opens to the public

6 April 2014
BBC News


Local children took part in a colourful parade to mark the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park


At almost the same size as Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens combined, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is the biggest park to open in London for a century

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London has opened to the public for the first time since the London 2012 Games.

Alongside venues for sport and the arts, London's newest park features interactive water fountains and an adventure playground.

Visitors can go up the 375ft-high (114.5m) ArcelorMittal Orbit tower.

It is the biggest park to be opened in London for a century.

New homes


Visitors can go up the 375ft-high (114.5m) ArcelorMittal Orbit tower, Britain's largest piece of public art

It is hoped the attraction will revitalise the neighbourhood and bring tourists to the area.

Visiting the park is free, although there will be charges for some of the attractions.

More than 10,000 new households are planned for the site by 2030.

Current attractions also include the Aquatics Centre and VeloPark, and future ventures are planned with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and University College London (UCL).

The development has been led by the London Legacy Development Corporation.

'Astonishing place'

Mark Camley, the corporation's executive director of park operations, said most of the activities taking place over the opening weekend would be free of charge.

He told BBC Radio 5 live: "We have set out to create a new heart for east London."


The Olympic Village, seen here during the park's construction, is to become a residential district. The Basketball Arena (top right in the picture) has been dismantled


The Olympic Village. More than 10,000 new households are planned for the site by 2030.


The newly-landscaped southern section of the east London park reopened on Saturday


Children can play in interactive fountains around the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower


The park has been reopened to the public 18 months after the end of the London Paralympics


An acrobat hangs from the tower. Organisers say the park will create "a new heart for east London"

The opening comes after Prince Harry and London Mayor Boris Johnson paid a visit to the site on Friday.

The prince said the park was better than he expected, while Mr Johnson said: "It's far more beautiful than I possibly thought it could be.

"This is going to be a quite astonishing place to come and bring your family."


Children can play in the interactive fountains and the adventure playground


Prince Harry was persuaded to test out the play equipment by children


Prince Harry pushes schoolchildren on a swing during a visit




BBC News - Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park opens to the public
 
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Locutus

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Jun 18, 2007
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Too bad they couldn't hold the olympics in england at some point.

Oh well, one can only hope.