Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Aerial view of the park in October 2022
Map of the park in 2012
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Region	Greater London
Districts	Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Hackney
City districts	Stratford, Old Ford, Leyton, Hackney Wick
Time zone	UTC0 (UTC)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode	E20

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a large sports area and public park in east London. It was specially built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The park is next to the Stratford City shopping and living area.

Inside the park, you will find the London Stadium, which was the main Olympic stadium. There is also the Olympic swimming pool and the Olympic Village where athletes stayed. Many other sports venues and the media centre for the Games are also here. The park is watched over by the ArcelorMittal Orbit, a tall observation tower and the biggest piece of public art in Britain.

During the Games, it was simply called The Olympic Park. It was later renamed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The park covers parts of four east London areas: Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, and Waltham Forest. Some parts of the park opened to the public in July 2013. Most of the rest, including the Aquatics Centre and the Velopark, opened in April 2014.

Where is the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park located?

The park is in east London. It covers parts of Stratford, Bow, Leyton, and Hackney Wick. It is located near the A12 road. Before the park was built, the land was a mix of empty fields and old industrial sites. It also included parts of Hackney Marshes.

The Royal Mail gave the park and Stratford City the postcode E20. This postcode was previously only used in the TV show EastEnders for a made-up area called Walford.

On August 2, 2011, five new neighbourhoods were announced for the park area:

• Chobham Manor in the London Borough of Newham
• East Wick in the London Borough of Hackney (near Hackney Wick)
• Sweetwater in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
• Pudding Mill in the London Borough of Newham
• Marshgate Wharf in the London Borough of Newham

These names have historical links to the area. All four East London boroughs that the park covers have a neighbourhood, except for Waltham Forest.

How was the Olympic Park designed and built?

Designing the Park

The park was designed by a group of companies called the EDAW Consortium. This group included EDAW, Allies and Morrison, and Buro Happold. They worked with Arup and WS Atkins. The detailed plans for the park's green spaces were made by LDA Design and Hargreaves Associates. The lighting for the park was designed by Speirs + Major.

London's plan for the 2012 Olympics first suggested four indoor arenas in the park. However, a new plan in 2006 reduced this to three. The volleyball events were moved to the Earls Court Exhibition Centre. The fencing arena was also cancelled. Fencing events took place at ExCeL London.

The indoor arenas that remained were the Basketball Arena and the Copper Box. Other venues included the Water Polo Arena, the Aquatics Centre, and the Velopark. The final design of the park was approved by the Olympic Delivery Authority.

Building the Park

More than 80,000 workers helped build the Olympic Park. The construction was managed by CLM Delivery Partner. This group included CH2M Hill, Laing O'Rourke, and Mace. CLM managed the areas between the main venues. They also managed the roads inside the park.

To start the main building work, 52 tall electricity pylons were removed. These pylons, up to 65 metres (213 feet) high, used to stand across the landscape. The electricity was then moved through new underground tunnels. Workers also found a Roman village underground while digging. After clearing the site, the soil was cleaned to make it safe for people.

What are the main parts of the park?

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has several important sections and venues:

• London Aquatics Centre
• Copper Box Arena
• Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre
• Lee Valley VeloPark
• London Stadium
• ArcelorMittal Orbit
• East Village, London
• London Olympics Media Centre
• International Quarter London
• Northern Parklands

During the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, these venues were also part of the park:

• Eton Manor
• Riverbank Arena
• Water Polo Arena
• Basketball Arena
• Park Live

What happened to the park after the Olympics?

After the London 2012 Summer Olympics, the park was used for many new purposes:

• It became part of the East London Tech City, a hub for technology companies.
• It was turned into one of the largest urban parks built in Western Europe in over 150 years. The park helps protect the local environment. It has restored wetland areas and planted native plants.
• The East Village was built next to Stratford City. It has 3,600 apartments for people to live in.
• The Manor Garden Allotments were brought back after being used for other things.
• The ArcelorMittal Orbit is a tall steel tower. It is the largest public artwork in the UK and a popular tourist spot.
• Plans for a main UK Olympic Museum in the park were cancelled in 2013.
• A new Head Office for Transport for London moved to the park.

East Bank: A new home for arts and education

V&A East and UAL buildings being built in April 2023

Since 2021, several arts and creativity groups have been building new places in the park. This is part of a big £1.1 billion project called East Bank.

• The Victoria and Albert Museum will open a new museum here.
• Sadler's Wells Ballet Company will open a new theatre with 550 seats.
• University College London opened its new UCL East campus in the park in 2023.
• The BBC hopes to move its famous Maida Vale Studios here.
• University of the Arts London's London College of Fashion moved to the park and opened its new campus in 2023.

International Quarter London: A new business area

International Quarter London is a new business district in Stratford. It was part of the area used for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This new area will have offices, homes, and a hotel. It is a large project with an investment of over £1.3 billion.

The International Quarter London will include 4 million square feet of office space. It will also have 330 homes called Glasshouse Gardens. The area is easy to reach from Stratford station.

Sporting events after the Olympics

Even though the Olympic venues were made smaller after 2012, they are still used. They serve the local community and host big international sports events. These events use the world-class facilities built for the Olympics and Paralympics.

• The Stadium has hosted the London Grand Prix athletics event since 2013.
• The third stage of the 2014 Tour de France bike race went through the park.
• In September 2014, the first Invictus Games were held in the park.
• London won the bid to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships. This was announced in November 2011.
• The men's and women's 2015 European hockey championships took place at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre.
• London also won the right to host the 2017 World Paralympic Championships.
• The International Tennis Federation announced that the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre would host the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters from 2014 to 2016.
• London successfully bid to hold the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships and the 2016 European Aquatics Championships. These were held at the Velodrome and Aquatics Centre.
• Track cycling events for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games were held at the Velodrome.

Sports clubs that call the park home

Some of the venues are regularly used by amateur and professional sports teams.

On February 11, 2011, West Ham United football club was chosen to take over the Olympic Stadium. They wanted to use it as their home ground after the Games. However, there were legal challenges. Eventually, West Ham won a later bid and started using the stadium for the 2016–17 football season.

The Copper Box was the only permanent indoor arena left after London 2012. It was built for handball and goalball competitions. It was changed into a multi-use venue, including for basketball. The London Lions basketball club moved to the Copper Box for the 2013-14 BBL season.

The Lee Valley Hockey Centre was created by updating the Olympic Legacy Hockey Facility. It is the current home ground for Wapping Hockey Club. The centre has two modern hockey pitches. It is run by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

After the Olympics, the original warm-up track was removed. A new six-lane track, the London Marathon Community Track, was built. It is on the south side of the Olympic Stadium. It is used by the community and is the new home for Newham and Essex Beagles Athletic Club.

Concerts and music events

In January 2013, Live Nation won the right to hold music shows at the stadium and in the park. The park hosted music events in July 2013, but the stadium itself was not used then. The area where the Riverbank Arena used to be was used for festivals like Hard Rock Calling, Wireless, and Electric Daisy Carnival.

The stadium has since hosted many concerts. These include shows by Guns N' Roses, AC/DC, and Robbie Williams.

In 2021, ABBA started building a special arena in the Olympic Park. It is called the ABBA Arena. It is for a motion-capture hologram concert residency that began in May 2022. The announcement of the arena and its purpose happened during a YouTube livestream. This was also when they announced their album Voyage.

How to get to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park?

Train and Tube Stations

• Stratford station is the main station for the park. It is one of the busiest railway stations in the UK. You can reach it by the London Underground Jubilee line and Central line. The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) also stops here. You can also get London Overground trains and longer-distance trains from this station.
• Stratford International is on the high-speed High Speed 1 line. It has fast trains to Kent. The Docklands Light Railway also serves this station.
• Pudding Mill Lane DLR station is another DLR station just south of the park. It was rebuilt in 2014. DLR trains from Stratford, Lewisham, and Canary Wharf stop here.
• Hackney Wick railway station is on the London Overground North London line. It has services from Stratford to Richmond and Clapham Junction.

London Buses

Stratford City bus station

There are two main bus stations serving the park:

• Stratford City bus station has buses to many parts of London. These include Walthamstow, Chingford, and Greenwich Peninsula. Route 388 goes to London Bridge. You can also get 24-hour coach services to London Stansted Airport from here.
• Stratford bus station has bus services to many areas in East London. These include Barking, Canary Wharf, and Romford. Route 25 goes to the City of London.

Images for kids

• 

  The London Aquatics Centre with the ArcelorMittal Orbit on the right

• 

  Lee Valley VeloPark

• 

  Olympic gardens in front of the River Lea and its tributary the City Mill River

• 

  Northern Parklands with the River Lea, looking south

• 

  Northern Parklands with the River Lea, looking south

• 

  The park looking south from Eastcross Bridge

See also

In Spanish: Parque Olímpico Reina Isabel para niños