Aquatics Centre wave-shaped roof now in place

Aquatics Centre wave-shaped roof now in place. The wave-shaped Aquatics Centre roof has been successfully lifted and lowered into place.The wave-shaped Aquatics Centre roof has been successfully lifted and lowered into place completing what was one of the most complex engineering and construction challenges of the Olympic Park ‘big build’.
The 160m long sweeping roof frame of the Zaha Hadid designed Aquatics Centre, weighing over 3000 tonnes and resting on just three concrete supports, will be the gateway to the Olympic Park.


In legacy the venue will provide two 50m swimming pools, a diving pool and dry diving area for community and elite use.The roof steel was fabricated in Newport from plate rolled in Gateshead, Motherwell and Scunthorpe, assembled on the Aquatics Centre site and connected together 20m off the ground on temporary supports. The completed roof frame was then carefully lifted over 1m at one end and lowered into its permanent position with the temporary supports removed.

ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said:

'The Aquatics Centre is on track for completion in mid-2011 and the sweeping roof that will form the ‘Gateway to the Games’ is now a fixture in the skyline alongside the Olympic Stadium. The Aquatics Centre will be a new landmark building for east London and will offer elite and community swimming and diving facilities in legacy.

'Across the programme we are on schedule and within budget. However, we are not complacent. Our toughest year is ahead of us as the workforce and activity on site reaches a peak.'

London 2012 Organising Committee Chairman Sebastian Coe said:

'The Aquatics Centre is going to be a spectacular venue for the Games in 2012 and its unique roof will be a wonderful addition to the east London skyline. At Games-time, 17,500 excited spectators will be able to ‘raise the roof’ cheering on the swimmers, including our British medal hopefuls, and in legacy it will become a much-needed elite and community facility. We are making great progress – and are fully on track with this iconic gateway to the Olympic Park.'

Original Source: london2012.com

London 2012 providing UK-wide business opportunities

London 2012 providing UK-wide business opportunitiesThe benefits generated by the London 2012 Games for businesses across the UK were revealed today. An Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) ‘building for 2012’ map shows a snapshot of around 1,500 companies spread across the UK already supplying goods and services to the for the venues and infrastructure needed for the Games. For example a Scottish company has designed the electrical substation, a Welsh company is providing the steel for the Aquatics Centre roof and a company from Bolton is providing the steel for the Olympic Stadium.

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: ‘The map is a snapshot of how businesses are benefiting from the investment in the Games project. It shows around 1,500 UK companies from Inverness to Taunton have already won contracts – a mere fraction of what will be the total number.’

Speaking at the London 2012 Business Summit today, London Organising Committee (LOCOG) Chair Seb Coe also announced that LOCOG will tender around £700 million worth of goods and services for the staging of the Games. These include facilities management, catering, production services for Ceremonies and technology.

Seb said: ‘The focus so far has been on the ODA and construction, but the Organising Committee is now at a stage where we move from planning to delivery.

‘With less than three years to go, we’re starting the procurement process for everything we need to stage a memorable Games. The scope of this is potentially massive - from sporting equipment to catering services and beyond.

‘We often talk about the Games heralding a golden decade of sport and I believe that this could be matched by a golden decade of sport-related business. We want the Games to be a triumph for Britain – at the finish line and the bottom line.’

Original source:
http://www.london2012.com

Local school meets team building London 2012 Velodrome

Local school meets team building London 2012 Velodrome. The contractors designing and building the London 2012 Velodrome visited the winners of the London 2012 'VeloDream' competition. Curwen Primary School in Newham won last year's 'VeloDream' by beating more than 500 schools who signed up for the competition around the country. The competition asked pupils to design their own dream cycling venues of the future.

A full day of activity at the school included a presentation on the London 2012 Velodrome, followed by a chance for the pupils to design and build a 3.5m x 2.5m model of the VeloPark. Six groups each worked with a member of the contractor team to create a section of the VeloPark. At the end of the day, all the sections were put together to make the entire VeloPark, including the Velodrome and BMX Circuit.

Ms Helm from Curwen Primary School said: 'Working with the Olympic Delivery Authority and Velodrome designers has been an amazing opportunity for our children and allowed them to experience working as a team on a larger project. The final outcome was incredible and a testament to everybody's hard work and creativity. As a school we are very excited about developing our own “Olympic legacy” through this Velodrome work.'

Original Source: http://www.london2012.com/news/2009/11/local-school-meets-team-building-london-2012-velodrome.php

The Queen visits Olympic Park to plant the first tree

The Queen visits Olympic Park to plant the first tree

Her Majesty The Queen today visited the Olympic Park to see the progress being made on the venues and infrastructure being built for the London 2012 Games. Her Majesty also helped plant the first tree on the Park. The 17-year-old English white willow, planted close to the Olympic Stadium, is the first of more than 4,000 trees that will be planted in the parklands across the 2.5sq km site.



A total of 300 trees will be located on the Stadium ‘island’, half of which will be planted by the end of 2009. After viewing the Stadium from a platform at the level of the highest spectators’ seats, Her Majesty then walked along a section of the 100m track and across what will become the finish line.

Olympic Delivery Authority Chairman John Armitt said: ‘It is an honour to welcome Her Majesty The Queen to the Olympic Park site today and show her the progress that is being made across the site. We now have around 7,000 people working to create the venues that are already landmarks on the east London skyline and thousands of British companies working on one of the largest regeneration projects in Europe.’

London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Chair Sebastian Coe said: ‘We are thrilled to welcome Her Majesty back to show the progress we’ve made. The skyline in this part of London is being changed forever. The Olympic Park will become a home to world-class sport in 2012 and a new community afterwards. The Queen is planting the first tree, a symbolic gesture that represents the most extraordinary effort by everyone to ensure the Games bring lasting change for millions of people across London and the country as a whole.’

Original source: http://www.london2012.com/news/2009/11/the-queen-visits-olympic-park-to-plant-the-first-tree.php

London 2012's International Inspiration launches in Jordan

London 2012's International Inspiration launches in Jordan. Young people in Jordan are the latest to benefit from 'International Inspiration', a London 2012 education programme designed to inspire young people around the world to take up sport.

International Inspiration ambassador Dame Tanni Grey Thompson attended the launch of the programme in Amman alongside dignatories including HRH Prince Ra'ad Zeid , Jordanian Minster of Education and Higher Education HE


Professor Walid Al Ma`ani and HE Mr James Watt, Ambassador of Britain to Jordan. A first for the Olympic and Paralympic Movements, the International Inspiration programme will reach 12 million children and young people in 20 countries by 2012. Jordan is the seventh country to launch the programme.

Dame Tanni said: 'I’ve seen and experienced how the Olympic and Paralympic Games can transform young lives and inspire young peoples to great things, but I believe that London 2012 is doing something unique.

'Through International Inspiration the transformative power of sport and the Olympics will be unleashed for the benefit of millions of children, young people and their communities around the world.

'I have been lucky to see how here in Jordan International Inspiration will use sport, physical education and play to provide young people with skills and knowledge they need to succeed in life, but also to ensure no child, no matter their abilities, their gender or their social status is excluded.

'This is an Olympic and Paralympic legacy to be proud of, and one that I am excited to be part of.'

Source www.london2012.com