Friday, August 24, 2007

A look at the venues planned for the London 2012 Olympics

I have heard that London 2012 is aiming to be the "greenest" games to date. I hope they can reach their goal. Above is a look at the planned layout of their venues for 2012. It'll be interesting to look back on this image in a few years and see how much of it was actually realized and how much changed.

Here is some info on the site from the wikipedia:

The 2012 Olympics will use a mixture of newly built venues, existing facilities, and temporary facilities, some of them in well known locations such as Hyde Park and Horse Guards Parade. In the wake of the problems that plagued the Millennium Dome, the intention is that there will be no white elephants after the games. Some of the new facilities will be reused in their Olympic form, while others will be reduced in size and several will be relocated elsewhere in the UK. The plans will contribute to the regeneration of Stratford in east London which will be the site of the Olympic Park, and of the neighbouring Lower Lea Valley.

However this will require the compulsory purchase of some business properties, which would be demolished to make way for Olympic venues and infrastructure improvements. This has caused controversy, with some of the effected proprietors claiming that the compensation offered is inadequate. In addition, concerns about the development's potential impact on the future of the century-old Manor Garden Allotments have inspired a community campaign.

The majority of venues have been divided into three zones within Greater London: the Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone. In addition to these are those venues that, by necessity, are outside the boundaries of Greater London.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) noted that future negotiations were necessary to ensure the use of the Old Trafford and Villa Park football stadiums. The need for compulsory purchase orders was also highlighted as a possible problem for the Olympic Park, but did not expect this to cause any "undue delay to construction schedules".

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