09 Sep Good night London 2012
As the sun sets on London 2012 and the euphoria of Team GB’s success fades into history, here’s one last look at the Olympic Park at night before it closes it doors and begins its transformation into the Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park.
“Inspire a Generation” was the tagline for London 2012. Only time will tell if the Games has lived up to its promise of creating a lasting legacy for generations to come.
The 80,000-seater Olympic Stadium overshadowed by the Orbit, a 115m tall free-standing steel red sculpture (complete with observation deck at the top). On a clear night, the Orbit is visible up to 10km away.
A closer look at the Orbit. A lift takes you up to the observation deck at the top of the structure (the octagonal structure on the top-left of the image) to take in the views of the Olympic Park and the London skyline. The way down is via a spiralling staircase (451 steps!) that coils around the structure.
The 30-ft tall “RUN” sculpture outside the CopperBox handball arena. Made of reflective glass and steel, it is on of 26 specially-commissioned art pieces for the Olympic Park.
The Orbit Circus: a place for spectators to rest their feet and tuck into the culinary delights of the nearby McDonald’s.
Despite the initial ticketing fiasco in the early days of the Games that led to empty seats (due to sponsors and media not using their allocation), the stadium was packed every day and night.
The Beat Box was Coca-Cola’s “interactive pavilion”, part of their music-oriented marketing campaign during the Games to brainwash entertain and educate(?) visitors. Notably, this was probably the only sponsor structure that was not awash with corporate logos.
A man takes time out to reflect on the spectacular show that London 2012 put on for the world over the past few weeks. After the Games end, the Park will transform into one of the largest urban green spaces in Europe.
More images will shortly be available to view in my Image Archive.
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