The London Olympic Stadium

[memorabilia]

About stadium wraping (from ATR) :

LOCOG Close to Securing Sponsor for Olympic Stadium Wrap

London 2012 organizers tell Around the Rings they are making "good progress" in their discussions to land a sponsor to fund the multimillion dollar fabric wrap for the 80,000-seat Olympic stadium.

London Olympic Stadium. (Getty Images)

A LOCOG spokesman tells ATR that Olympic chiefs are "still progressing the wrap discussions" and said he is "very" confident a deal will be signed with a sponsor.

But the announcement will not be made before July 27 - the year-to-go mark before the Olympics open, he added.

With LOCOG’s commercial program almost complete, the wrap concept is one of the last major sponsorship opportunities.

The idea was scrapped last October under the British government's wide-ranging budget cuts stemming from its Comprehensive Spending Review, but revived in February.

LOCOG invited expressions of interest from the private sector to supply the one kilometer wrap, offering sector-exclusive marketing rights as part of the procurement process.

The fabric curtain idea was conceived to enclose the seating bowl and provide a space to display artwork and video to brighten up an otherwise dull-looking stadium.

No sponsorship is allowed on the wrap during Games-time under IOC rules, providing a challenge for potential London 2012 partners to make the most of the stadium sponsorship.

http://www.aroundtherings.com/articles/view.aspx?id=37516

[Rob2012]

Good stuff

[Lee]

Just seen this on another site. Article from The Architects' Journal

LOCOG has chosen US-based silicone textile producer Dow Corning to sponsor the 2012 Olympic Stadium wrap

Controversially axed as part of the government’s spending review last autumn, the £7 million stadium wrap has been resurrected thanks to a corporate sponsorship deal, the AJ can confirm.

Designed to stretch 900 metres around the entire stadium and protect the steel-frame building from cross winds, the iconic wrapping was originally planned to feature moving images of athletes when it was first revealed in 2008. As with all fabrics used on the Olympic site, the wrap will be made from non-phthalate silicon, according to AJ sustainability editor and author of London 2012 Sustainable Design: Delivering an Olympic Legacy Hattie Hartman.

In October, the government sparked criticism from stadium architects Populous when it killed off the colourful banner by axing £20 million from the 2012 Olympic Games budget as part of its comprehensive spending review.

Months later however, games organisers LOCOG asked for expressions of interest from businesses wishing to supply the wrap, announcing it would ‘explore possible sponsorship opportunities’ in a bid to revive the project.

The selection of Dow Corning – which operates a chemical plant in Wales and is a joint venture of Dow Chemical and ceramics producer Corning – is one of the final corporate sponsorship deals to be signed before the 2012 summer games.

Under Olympics rules all stadiums are branding-free and since Dow Corning is outside the list of official sponsors it is unlikely the company’s name will feature prominently in the design or within the Olympic Park during the games.

The stadium wrap has been plagued by controversy since its announcement. The 2008 planning application suggested the textile could be hemp – erived from the cannabis family of plants - however the ODA later denied this material would be used.

High-profile architects including Richard Rogers have also criticised the idea of the wrap, claiming the £486 million showpiece Olympic Stadium would be better off left bare.

A spokesperson for LOCOG denied a sponsorship deal had been made but said: ‘We are in negotiations and working towards having a deal done.’

[Mr Tickle]

I have to admit Im very suprised. I thought it was gonna be Coca Cola with them then doing something to promote the fact they sponsored it. Yeah though, we have a wrap!

[barrack]

nicely done! so is the design finalized?

[memorabilia]

Just seen this on another site. Article from The Architects' Journal

LOCOG has chosen US-based silicone textile producer Dow Corning to sponsor the 2012 Olympic Stadium wrap

Controversially axed as part of the government’s spending review last autumn, the £7 million stadium wrap has been resurrected thanks to a corporate sponsorship deal, the AJ can confirm.

Designed to stretch 900 metres around the entire stadium and protect the steel-frame building from cross winds, the iconic wrapping was originally planned to feature moving images of athletes when it was first revealed in 2008. As with all fabrics used on the Olympic site, the wrap will be made from non-phthalate silicon, according to AJ sustainability editor and author of London 2012 Sustainable Design: Delivering an Olympic Legacy Hattie Hartman.

In October, the government sparked criticism from stadium architects Populous when it killed off the colourful banner by axing £20 million from the 2012 Olympic Games budget as part of its comprehensive spending review.

Months later however, games organisers LOCOG asked for expressions of interest from businesses wishing to supply the wrap, announcing it would ‘explore possible sponsorship opportunities’ in a bid to revive the project.

The selection of Dow Corning – which operates a chemical plant in Wales and is a joint venture of Dow Chemical and ceramics producer Corning – is one of the final corporate sponsorship deals to be signed before the 2012 summer games.

Under Olympics rules all stadiums are branding-free and since Dow Corning is outside the list of official sponsors it is unlikely the company’s name will feature prominently in the design or within the Olympic Park during the games.

The stadium wrap has been plagued by controversy since its announcement. The 2008 planning application suggested the textile could be hemp – erived from the cannabis family of plants - however the ODA later denied this material would be used.

High-profile architects including Richard Rogers have also criticised the idea of the wrap, claiming the £486 million showpiece Olympic Stadium would be better off left bare.

A spokesperson for LOCOG denied a sponsorship deal had been made but said: ‘We are in negotiations and working towards having a deal done.’

Is there a link between Dow Corning and the IOC Top Sponsor DOW, specialised in chemical products & services ??

[Rob2012]

US-based silicone textile producer Dow Corning

Well, this is a great development I would think for everyone involved. With Coke or Adidas or whoever, they'd want their branding on it, even in a subtle way.

A textile producer will want their product to shine and work with the architectue. The wrap, in itself, will be the advert for them.

It seems to me, rather than finding a sponsor, what LOCOG have done is found a supplier who will 'donate' the wrap and, in return, will be able to leverage their involvement through advertising elsewhere. Just as BMW are supplying hundreds of cars in return for being able to advertise and associate themselves with the Games, so Dow Corning are supplying the wrap for the same reason.

I might well be wrong, but if I've read this right, it's a damn clever move. It gets the wrap paid for without compromising its aesthetic. A win-win all round as the textile supplier will presumably love seeing their product so prominent for a month.

New renders please!

[Lee]

Well, this is a great development I would think for everyone involved. With Coke or Adidas or whoever, they'd want their branding on it, even in a subtle way.

A textile producer will want their product to shine and work with the architectue. The wrap, in itself, will be the advert for them.

It seems to me, rather than finding a sponsor, what LOCOG have done is found a supplier who will 'donate' the wrap and, in return, will be able to leverage their involvement through advertising elsewhere. Just as BMW are supplying hundreds of cars in return for being able to advertise and associate themselves with the Games, so Dow Corning are supplying the wrap for the same reason.

I might well be wrong, but if I've read this right, it's a damn clever move. It gets the wrap paid for without compromising its aesthetic. A win-win all round as the textile supplier will presumably love seeing their product so prominent for a month.

New renders please!

Thanks Rob. You have basically made a much better job of what I was about to attempt to say. I really do feel this is the best possible solution to the whole wrap saga. I was fearing some big corporate sponsor like Coke trying to push the boundaries on what would be considered advertising. Having the wrap manufacturer as the sponsor who indeed make it the wrap itself become the advertising. I think it's a genius solution.

[baron-pierreIV]

I was really hoping it would be Gyros-r-Us!!

[Brekkie Boy]

Thank god for that - it would look rather hideous without it.

[Lee]

Olympic stadium is a hive of activity today and a big number 1 has appeared on the grass. What is in the turquoise boxes?

[baron-pierreIV]

Is Oly Stadium getting a test event this year or next?

What is in the turquoise boxes?

The medals...from Tiffany's.

[memorabilia]

Olympic stadium is a hive of activity today and a big number 1 has appeared on the grass. What is in the turquoise boxes?

The track... and apparently it will be an "orange" one !!!

[Lee]

Is Oly Stadium getting a test event this year or next?

The medals...from Tiffany's.

D'ya think?

[memorabilia]

Olympic stadium is a hive of activity today and a big number 1 has appeared on the grass. What is in the turquoise boxes?

I think the color of the track is clear now !!!

[Soaring]

Cool, I don't see a #1 though. The boxes are a bunch of small port-a-potty's.

[Mr Tickle]

I think the one was cut into the grass for a picture earlier in the week

[Olympian2004]

But doesn't the track rather have the usual red than an orange colour? To me it appears red.

[Lee]

Stunning!

[Olympian2004]

On the new webcam pictures with more of the track installed, one can clearly say that it's red and not orange. Or am I colour-blind?

[Mr Tickle]

Its definately red and explains that new image on the squint Opera website. That image superseeded the orange track version. The more I think about it the more I think this has more to do with legacy. I bet West Ham complained an Orange track would not suit their corporate colours, as they will be having to live with it.

A striking track colour would have been a great way to finish off that stadium. They could have gone with the West ham blue I suppose

[Olympian2004]

Well, now the question is how the surrounding of the track will look like. I hope that they will chose something new at least there, like the dark grey they used on those renders. I also liked the red/yellow combination Atlanta and Sydney used, it looked so fresh. Hopefully the surroundings won't be red, too -- like in Beijing. I found that so dull.

[Rob2012]

We sure this isn't some kind of underlay?

[4seasonscentre]

So close to completion! This reminds me of the Delhi stadium on the eve of the CW Games

[Olympian2004]

We sure this isn't some kind of underlay?

The tone of red looks very much like the usual red used for most athletic tracks around the world. So I highly doubt that this is just an underlay. The rose-coloured layer which one can see in the turn in the foreground of the following picture, that one seems to be the underlay for the track, yes. And it even looks as if they are already drawing the lanes (left side of the picture).

So I guess it's definite that we'll get yet another Olympic Games with a red track.

But here's the big consolation prize in 2016: