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stryker

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The Orbit looked quite quiet, people were up there but no queuing for tickets, and the shop was empty but actually had some really creative stuff like paperclips bent into the shape of the orbit and gold, silver, bronze button badges.

Fifteen quid is a bit steep for what you get- Blackpool Tower is cheaper (even more so with online discounts) and taller, and offers more to the visitor.

Rob - I questioned the legacy guys who are in charge of QE Olympic Park about this and they said that the museum hasn't been shelved rather the BOA is still trying to gain the necessary funding (seems a classic fob off) but I have a sneaky feeling that a permanent exhibition may appear in the new V&A that is planned here? Secondly I asked where the Olympic Bell was? Apparently it is safe in storage and will be installed once they have found the right place to put it (i.e. they aren't going to - as they surely would have already have an idea for it in the overall masterplan)!

My only gripe really is that apart from the Olympic rings in the north of the park - there is now way of telling the games had been there. No Olympic Cauldron - no Olympic museum - no Olympic Bell - no Olympic memorial commemorating the winners and all the volunteers = a big missed opportunity.

I would guess that the "overall masterplan" changed when West Ham got the Stadium; potentially, that's still where the Bell could and should go, but whether the club want it is another matter.

There is, unfortunately, one way you can tell that the Games were there- it sticks up like a sore thumb.

OOh ok. I think the museum would solve a lot of that if it ever materializes.

Yes, which brings us to:

Went to the British Library while in London for 2012. Point was to see the Magna Chara, Gutenberg Bible, etc.

Ended up spending most of my time looking at the music scripts, including the above mentioned John Lennon notes.

PS. I hated the orbit, but thought it might grow on my in time. Nope.

If you ever need to do any historical research involving obscure old books, maps or manuscripts, the BL is a fabulous resource- a lot of the prettier material is appearing online these days too (but there's no substitute for seeing a page of the actual Lindisfarne Gospels, for example).

As for the Orbit; what I hate more than the structure itself is the utter mess at its foot- the fence and block-built hut. It would be much better if they could replace both with a one-storey visitor centre completely surrounding the base.

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You can't build a building around the bottom as Kapoor has the bell sculpture thing in the bottom - anyways I like it but is not shouting Olympics etc etc

In an ideal world you wouldn't put anything at all round the bottom; in practice they've got everything but the kitchen sink:

orbit-base.jpg

The closer you get, the uglier it looks at the moment.

I may disagree on "shouting Olympics"- it does have a sort of torch-like appearance among all the helter-skelter bits.

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Rob - I questioned the legacy guys who are in charge of QE Olympic Park about this and they said that the museum hasn't been shelved rather the BOA is still trying to gain the necessary funding (seems a classic fob off) but I have a sneaky feeling that a permanent exhibition may appear in the new V&A that is planned here? Secondly I asked where the Olympic Bell was? Apparently it is safe in storage and will be installed once they have found the right place to put it (i.e. they aren't going to - as they surely would have already have an idea for it in the overall masterplan)!

My only gripe really is that apart from the Olympic rings in the north of the park - there is now way of telling the games had been there. No Olympic Cauldron - no Olympic museum - no Olympic Bell - no Olympic memorial commemorating the winners and all the volunteers = a big missed opportunity.

i'm assuming the bell will be on the orbit. there's a space on the viewing platform you can stick it there.

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Olympic Stadium: T20 cricket deal 'in principle', say Essex

A deal has been agreed "in principle" for Essex to play T20 cricket at the London Olympic Stadium from 2016.

Essex chief executive Derek Bowden has said Kent and Middlesex are also interested in the plans to host a T20 festival at the venue.

"In principle there is an agreement that a two-week festival of T20-type cricket could be played at the Olympic Park from 2016," Bowden told BBC Essex.

"Ourselves, Kent and Middlesex have all expressed interest in playing there."

Essex first revealed a desire to play cricket at the Olympic Park back in 2010 and in March 2012 launched a failed to bid to become a tenant of the stadium.

Football side West Ham will use the venue as their home ground from 2016, but any decision on whether cricket could also be played there will require the backing of the London Legacy Development Corporation, the organisation responsible for the future use of the Olympic Park.

Essex's Chelmsford ground, which is undergoing an £80m redevelopment, is just 30 miles from Stratford, the east London home of the 2012 Olympics.

"London Legacy and the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) are very supportive of the notion of a two-week festival of cricket in the summer," said Bowden.

BBC

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The latest plans are for the Bell to be located in the northern gardens of the stadium, which will be the newly landscaped area to the immediate north of the stadium which during the Games was the collection of food kiosks (pretty much where there was speculation before the Games of the location of the tall tower cauldron). This landscaping will be similar to the canal side landscaping and allow people to walk across the green Victorian bridge in the centre of the Park and up onto the stadium podium level and around the canal to the stadium car park and onwards to the Lea Navigation canal and Greenway.

There was an LLDC meeting recently about the location of the 9/11 memorial which consists of a steel column of the former WTC. The finalised location is on the new grassy hill outside the Aquatics Centre between the car park and Pool Road, but the LLDC are not completely taken with this location, as it does not feel the location is of the calibre required for such a memorial site, and its presence in the backdrop of the Aquatics Centre and the Orbit.

The design for the V&A museum are also being finalised and will be made public in the next few months. It's located on the former site of the Waterpolo Arena and takes up the whole plot as the new building, with its plaza level connecting seamlessly to the Stratford Bridge opposite the Aquatics Centre. It is significantly larger in scale than the Aquatics Centre, very different aesthetically and is certainly what I would term an 'iconic' piece of architecture, although that turn of phrase these days is met with slight disdain. It certainly has the 'attraction' power needed to pull people to spend more time in the Park.

There's definitely a lot more to come in the Park and around the Orbit the results of which will properly kick off this summer, and the Invictus Games taking place in September will again recreate some of the Park-wide magic not seen since the 2012 Games. Definitely a very healthy future ahead.

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The latest plans are for the Bell to be located in the northern gardens of the stadium, which will be the newly landscaped area to the immediate north of the stadium which during the Games was the collection of food kiosks (pretty much where there was speculation before the Games of the location of the tall tower cauldron). This landscaping will be similar to the canal side landscaping and allow people to walk across the green Victorian bridge in the centre of the Park and up onto the stadium podium level and around the canal to the stadium car park and onwards to the Lea Navigation canal and Greenway.

There was an LLDC meeting recently about the location of the 9/11 memorial which consists of a steel column of the former WTC. The finalised location is on the new grassy hill outside the Aquatics Centre between the car park and Pool Road, but the LLDC are not completely taken with this location, as it does not feel the location is of the calibre required for such a memorial site, and its presence in the backdrop of the Aquatics Centre and the Orbit.

The design for the V&A museum are also being finalised and will be made public in the next few months. It's located on the former site of the Waterpolo Arena and takes up the whole plot as the new building, with its plaza level connecting seamlessly to the Stratford Bridge opposite the Aquatics Centre. It is significantly larger in scale than the Aquatics Centre, very different aesthetically and is certainly what I would term an 'iconic' piece of architecture, although that turn of phrase these days is met with slight disdain. It certainly has the 'attraction' power needed to pull people to spend more time in the Park.

There's definitely a lot more to come in the Park and around the Orbit the results of which will properly kick off this summer, and the Invictus Games taking place in September will again recreate some of the Park-wide magic not seen since the 2012 Games. Definitely a very healthy future ahead.

Thanks for the update.

Can't wait to see the designs for the V&A. I've not got a problem with the word iconic if it's used correctly, but everything's sold as iconic these days to the point the word is meaningless most of the time it's used. If the new V&A *is* actually iconic, then great! Does this mean the housing in that area is being reduced substantially? I thought the Water Polo site was going to be a new neighbourhood.

Good to hear the bell is coming out of storage. Will it still be able to be rung?

Lastly, why are we putting up a 9/11 memorial in the Olympic Park? Surely a memorial to 7/7 would make more sense, though putting anything like this in the south of the park which is meant to be an area of celebration - not quiet contemplation - seems more than a bit incongruous.

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I wouldn't say the amount of residential space has been reduced, as there's something of rather significant height going to the north of the V&A site (which is still under wraps). Something that is good though is the original intention of animating the canal side here with restaurants and bars is to continue and could become a very special space once complete.

No idea if they bell is intended to be rung, it would be good though to hear it ring every 27th of the month at 20.12!

For anyone who hasn't been yet the Village is now fully accessible to the public with Victory Park and the Portlands wetlands walk open to all.

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Good to hear the bell is coming out of storage. Will it still be able to be rung?

So much for it being left in the stadium for 200 years...one of the OC's follys...

Lastly, why are we putting up a 9/11 memorial in the Olympic Park? Surely a memorial to 7/7 would make more sense, though putting anything like this in the south of the park which is meant to be an area of celebration - not quiet contemplation - seems more than a bit incongruous.

Good points...
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So much for it being left in the stadium for 200 years...one of the OC's follys...Good points...

Alexjc - you may have hated the opening ceremony - but it was never the intention that it would have stayed permanently in the stadium - so hardly a folly - IMO!?

The 9/11 girder from the word trade center - was given to the mayor of London by the New York - it's his pet project to find it a place in the park (originally think this was going to be outside the American Embassy but could be wrong)!

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The latest Google Earth aerial imagery for the east London area is dated 19 July 2013, and comparing it with June 2012 (top) starkly illustrates how much of the Olympic infrastructure was temporary. The 2013 version in this view of the area north-east of the Velodrome, including Eton Manor, also shows, at right, part of the site of the 2013 Wireless Festival, which itself consisted of temporary structures:

jul-13.jpg

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I visited the Olympic Park 3 times yesterday. Briefly before work, from Hackney Wick Station:

Velodrome-n-Agitos.jpg

Flowers_by_Copper_Box.jpg

A trip up the Orbit after work:

Park_N_from_Orbit.jpg

Park_NW_from_Orbit-b.jpg

Park_Fountains_from_Orbit.jpg

Park_W_from_Orbit.jpg

Park_SW_from_Orbit.jpg

Park_E_from_Orbit.jpg

Park_NE_from_Orbit.jpg

And finally, another brief visit in the evening, taking a break from Adrian Chiles on the big outdoor screen at Westfield:

Wind_turbines_sunset.jpg

Reflection_globe_dusk.jpg

Coming tomorrow, if David can get his video edited: Baton fun in the middle of the Tyne.

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GBC1.jpg

On Sunday 27 July Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will be transformed into a colourful free carnival to celebrate the second anniversary of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Marking the midway point between the London and Rio Olympics, the Great British Carnival will create a breath-taking event of dance, infectious music, performance and costume. The Carnival will feature international carnival artistes alongside homegrown performers and local carnivals from Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. The Carnival is free and opens at 12pm, with the finale beginning at 8.30pm. The day ends at 9.30pm.

In homage to Rio’s most famous cultural export, London and UK carnivals are keen to show off what Britain has to offer. The best of UK carnival arts will feature an exciting programme of pop-up parades, mask-making workshops, high-quality live music and superb family entertainment across three stages.

The event will also host the world premiere of The Carnival of the Animals: a magical twilight crescendo of costumed performers, 300 dancers, giant carnivalesque creatures and extraordinary illumination.

Great British Carnival-goers will witness memorable performances from:

Paraiso – authentic Brazilian samba carnival troupe with eye-catching costumes based in London

Rhythms of the City – an infectious fusion of funk, soul, Motown…and samba!

Mahogany – artists creating huge costumes, sculptures and choreographies

Shademakers – creators of ingenious but beautiful costume-puppets

The Bridgwater Squibbers – pyrotechnic performers from Britain’s oldest carnival in Bridgwater, Somerset

Mandinga Arts – outlandish costume-makers and anarchic performers

Young musicians, rappers and poets will also feature under the banner CarnivalXtra. CarnivalXtra is spear-headed by a pioneering board of London’s most exciting young change-makers, including: Lyrix Organix, AllSortz Open Mic, Bite The Ballot, A New Direction and the Mayor of London’s Peer Outreach team and Milestone Digital Youth. Together they create safe, relaxed and educational artistic and cultural engagement for all the family.

In the run-up to the event, residents of the Park’s four surrounding boroughs can participate in free music, dance and choreography workshops, learning routines with a view to joining in the pop-up parades on the big day.

As well as celebrating the anniversary of the Opening Ceremony, Great British Carnival will fill the Park with the spirit of Brazil for the day. After the excitement of the World Cup and as we look forward to the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Carnival will strengthen the links between the UK and Brazil.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said:

"The Great British Carnival at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a colourful celebration of both London's Games two years on and Rio's to come. London boasts a rich and diverse tradition of carnival, examples of which will be on show at this fun, free, family-friendly event in our magnificent new public Park."

Dennis Hone, Chief Executive, London Legacy Development Corporation, said:

“What better way to celebrate the anniversary of the London Olympic Opening Ceremony than by coming together at a magical carnival. With beautiful parades, infectious music and colourful costumes, 27 July promises to be a brilliant day. This event is just one part of our ambitious plans for arts and culture in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.”

Teresa Askew, Artistic Director of The Great British Carnival, said: “We are thrilled to be bringing the Great British Carnival to this great new performance space for London. This is the perfect place and time to be celebrating the very best of the British carnival scene and creating a magical experience for the whole family.”

http://queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk/media/press-releases/great-british-carnival-parades-into-queen-elizabeth-olympic-park

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