In 2012 London hosted the Summer Olympics. During the preparation time for this event, a gigantic Olympic complex was build that can still be visited today.
Everything to do with the Olympics is very fascinating for me so we absolutely had to go and see it. The Olympic Park covers an area of 250 hectares and is located on the banks of the river Lea to the East of London. Today, the park is named Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and it has become the go-to recreation area for the locals. Some of the sports facilities are still in use today, others have been taken down after the Olympics.
Olympic Park London We took the tube to the Olympic Park. The stop in Stratford makes it clear that this is different than the other tube stops in London. Everything is bigger and wider, the station was planned with the masses of visitors in mind that would come for the Games. Today, it seems a bit oversized. A very well signposted path runs past some shops all the way to the Olympic Park.
Aquatics Centre Lee Valley VeloPark
The first visible sports facility is the natatorium. It is still in use and was the venue for a competition on the day of our visit so that we could not go inside. Wide paths make it easy to explore the area. The Copper Box Arena was used for the preliminaries and the quarterfinals of the handball tournament and the fencing for the modern pentathlon. The Velopark was the venue for the cycling and BMX races. Both are still in use today. The Hockey Stadium and the Olympic Stadium were both being refurbished during the time of our visit.
Copper Box
ArcelorMittal Orbit im Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
A visit to the most eye-catching building in the Olympic Park is free with a London Pass. The ArcelorMittal Orbit is a 115 m high viewing tower in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
It was opened to the public in April 2014 and its two viewing platforms are ideal spots for a good view of the park. From the top, we got a good look at the construction site at the Olympic Stadium. Some of the stands were taken down because the capacity of the stadium for uses other than the Olympic Games was just too big.
We especially liked how green the whole area is. Playgrounds, takeaway shops and nice benches make for an ideal local recreation area.
Don’t miss a visit to the huge mall near the station on the way back to the tube. Even this was built in Olympic proportions to accommodate visitors from all over the world. We enjoyed the best cupcakes in a long while in that mall. Simone from Totally London was at the 2012 Olympic Games. In her article “Die Olympischen Spiele 2012 in London” she describes her experiences.
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