Olympic Games - 2012

What's on now

The 2012 Olympics and Paralympics in London will be based on an Olympic zone around Stratford in east London (beach volleyball in Horse Guards Parade, football at Wembley and gymnastics in the Millennium Dome) promising the biggest regeneration of England's capital since the Victorian era.

Construction on the Olympic Park site has started ahead of schedule. Building work is already taking place on the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Olympic Village. The building of the Olympic Park is one of the largest construction and engineering projects in Europe.

Stage three - the 'big build' - was due to start in summer 2008. In fact it began three months early, when construction started on the Olympic Stadium in May 2008. Building work has also begun on the Aquatics Centre and Olympic Village. Construction will continue to accelerate over the next year when building work begins on the last of the 'big five' venues: the VeloPark and International Broadcast Centre/Main Press Centre.

Sustainability has been built into every aspect of London 2012's plans - from recycling construction materials to inspiring a healthy lifestyle. We want London 2012 to be the first ‘sustainable’ Games, setting new standards for major events.

Read more on the official 2012 web-site »

Read more on the International Olympic Committee web-site »

Olympic venues & East London Tours.

Guided tours and more ...!

The sites for the London games will be in the West End (city centre) of London, at Greenwich and other sites near to the capital. Most events will be concentrated in the 500 acre/200 hectare Olympic Park, to be built next to London's new International Railway Station, on the site of the extensive Rail Lands.

Our tours will show you how this industrial part of London will be transformed into a green corridor with 3 miles/5 km of parkland, connecting the beautiful new Thames Barrier Park, through the Olympic Park, to another large area of sport, leisure and nature - the Lee Valley.

Work has already started on the Aquatics Centre. Observe the location of the 80,000-seat Main Stadium, the Multi-Sports Arena, Velodrome, Olympic Village, Broadcasting & Media Centre and Stratford City.

Olympic venues & East London Tours.

Hear the history of London's Royal Docks, as you travel to the Boxing, Judo, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Table Tennis and Taekwondo venue. View the Millennium Dome.

Cross the River Thames, to the Shooting, Badminton and Gymnastics locations. Imagine horses jumping in front of the Royal Palace at Greenwich, set in its splendid Royal Park. Enjoy the panorama from the Old Royal Observatory above.

Spend a day or half a day visiting the future Olympic venues, or build the 2012 Olympics into your East London or Greenwich sightseeing tours. We can also plan tours with emphasis on particular sports or urban regeneration, and engage specialist guides to provide technical information.

WALKING TOUR DISCOVERING THE OLYMPIC PARK
The best way to appreciate the extraordinary developments and construction currently taking place creating the Olympic Park for the 2012 Games is on foot. Using footpaths and towpaths around the industrial Lower River Lea valley – itself a crucial part of the regeneration project – we discover how this fascinating backwater of East London is already being transformed.

Using the Greenway, a future main access route through the Olympic Park, as our vantage point, we enjoy excellent views of the 2012 construction site including the Olympic stadium and other venues. Progress is already clearly visible. Get the facts, the figures and the real story about the plans for this area - how the 2012 games will regenerate a part of East London that most visitors have never explored. Enjoy little known gems along the route including the “Cathedreal of Sewage” and Three Mills films studios amidst a unique industrial canal setting.

Please wear suitable footwear as the route can be muddy. Not suitable for disabled visitors / wheelchairs.

Olympic venues & East London Tours.

EAST LONDON & 2012 OLYMPIC VENUES TOUR
This tour demonstrates the ambitious – and already very visible – urban regeneration of East London that is taking place in view of the Olympic Games 2012.

We drive through Tower Hamlets, with its long history of immigration and social deprivation now giving way to gentrification and creative housing projects, in order to reach the heart of the Olympic site in Stratford. View progress on the 80,000-seater stadium and the Olympic Park plus the residential and commercial development of Stratford City. The tour also takes in the huge improvements in infrastructure with the new Stratford International train station and an award winning bus station.

Continue through Newham, a very multicultural borough at the centre of challenging developments, towards the location of other main venues for the 2012 games in the Royal Docks. The athletes will compete right by some of the largest enclosed water spaces in the world, also home to a new University and the exceptional new Thames Barrier Park and plans are far reached for Silvertown Quays and Biota – the extraordinary new aquarium in Newham. Be the first to find out about the fundamental changes to East London taking place right now.

This is a coach tour but it can also be modified to be done by public transport. Make it a comprehensive full day tour by combining it with all the latest developments in Docklands, especially around Canary Wharf [see separate tour description] plus lunch in an unusual / waterside East London venue.