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How the legacy of London's 2012 Olympic venues lives on

Aerial view of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Photography: London Legacy Development Corporation
  • Written byJ Sait
  • Published date 10 August 2021
Aerial view of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Photography: London Legacy Development Corporation
Aerial view of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Photography: London Legacy Development Corporation
| Photograph: London Legacy Development Corporation

Governments hosting high-profile sporting events like the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup are repeatedly criticised for building massive, unsustainable venues, often abandoned in the years after the big event. In 2012, London aimed to change that narrative, praised at the time by climate activists for paving the way for sustainable architecture.

To ensure that the London 2012 Olympics would not make the same mistake, plans were in place from the start so that the Olympic Park — located in the east of the city in Stratford — could adapt from a space designed to host thousands of spectators to a park for the local community, and venues that could fulfil a variety of needs.

London College of Fashion, UAL's new building is located on the Olympic Park's new development East Bank, and has been designed with sustainability at its core, and having already received an impressive BREEAM Outstanding rating, the 36,000m2 new campus is on track for completion in June 2023.

Nearly a decade after the event, how are London’s Olympic venues being used and repurposed? Watch CNBC's video which looks at how London 2012's venues have been utilised since the Games, as well as the wider legacy work underway.