Olympic Stadium: London 2012!

NEWHAM, LONDON
As usual, on Wednesdays we had British Life and Culture; but that particular Wednesday was special: we got to take a tour of the 2012 Olympic Game sight in London.    

We started off by taking the Tube to the north east side of London, where we met our guide. He cheerfully informed us that this burrow was voted one of the top 5 worst places to live in the UK in 2010. On that happy note we set off towards a gigantic building in the distance. As we walked, he pointed out the huge changes the City of London had made to this poor neighborhood since they decided to hold the games in this area. They had cleaned up the sludgy canal, installed a new park, improved the tube system, and built houses for the athletes that will become low-income housing once the Olympics are over. Gradually, as the building in the distance got bigger, we began to realize the genius of their plan. By holding the Olympics here, they are improving the East side and giving the people a sense of pride. They are using the Olympic money not just for fancy stadiums but for making London a better city in the whole. What a good idea. 


Finally, we arrived at the Olympic stadium.  It was no longer distant; it was massive! Meant to hold 80,000 people, this colossal building is where the Opening Ceremony will take place in July then be used for track and field. Clustered around it were other arenas, the swimming stadium looked like a wave about to break and the warm up track field was the size of a small city. Although everything looked pretty good, they still have a bit more to go. 


They are still working on a huge red tower spiraling 100s of feet out of the Olympic Park. Some of us thought it would hold the Olympic torch, others theorized more wildly that it was the diving platform. It turned out to be neither. This tower was sponsored by London's richest man, Lakshmi Mittal and it will be a tourist attraction with a restaurant at the top and will stay up after the Olympics. That part didn't quite make sense, but I guess London is trying to make the most money out of the games. Our guide said that the only way to get in and out of the park is to walk through the huge new Westfield shopping center. 

Although we didn't get to go into any of the stadiums, we really got a feel for the London Olympic Games. When we watch it on TV this summer, I am looking forward to saying, I was there before it opened!

Abby