Bus tour of the Olympic Park

This must be the best free tour in the world. The bus tour of the construction site for the 2012 London Olympics is not widely advertised. Not even the London 2012 website gives you a clue. The tour runs from Stratford Regional Station, so on Saturday I started off early to drive through Walthamstow and Leyton ( areas of London that are not familiar) and was parked in the shopping centre opposite the station before nine. I had booked the tour that starts at 10am, so had time for a coffee and muffin at Starbucks.

Our tour guide met us at the bus stop, and inspected our ID as we boarded the single decker bus. At the entrance to the site, security came on board to inspect our bags, over in a flash. Our guide told us we could take photos, although all these are through the window of the bus. The first building inside the entrance is the Media Centre. Apparently the BBC and NBC will be in the building a year before the games commence to fit out studios and plan their production.

The Velodrome was next. It is still in the early days of construction. 12,000 seats during the games with half of those temporary.

The frame of the Olympic Village is almost complete. The fact that it is situated right next to the Park will be great for the athletes.

The most iconic building on the park is the Aquatic Centre. Zaha Hadid is the architect, but I think it is the structural engineer who deserves the most praise for making the design work. The 160m long and 90m wide roof has 2800 tonnes of steel in it's frame which is then supported on concrete plinths at each end with no intermediate columns. This will be the first to be of Olympic standard in the UK, requiring the 50m competition pool to be supported by a separate 50m training pool. Seating for 17,500 during the games. There is a better photo of the roof from the otherside on the ODA webcam.

The stadium is visible from almost everywhere in the park. With 25,000 permanent and another 55,000 temporary seats, there is a large demountable element. The fabric that eventually wraps around the stadium will, I believe, be cut up after the games and sold as souvenirs.

One interesting fact from our superb tour guide is that the north end of the park will have a large open area of grass that will have a big screen. You will be able to buy a ticket for entry just to the park and watch the events with a picnic. What a good idea.