How London laid the groundwork for sustainable sporting architecture | CNBC Reports

Governments hosting high-profile sporting events like the Olympics and FIFA World Cup are repeatedly criticized for building massive, unsustainable venues, often abandoned in the years after the big event. In 2012, London aimed to change that narrative, praised at the time by climate activists for paving the way for sustainable architecture. Nearly a decade later, how are these venues being used and repurposed? What can other host countries learn from 2012? CNBC's Tom Chitty reports from London.

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

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[ianleboo]

London set the best example of how these facilities should be utilized unlike Rio

[saulgoodman]

This is how it should be. They should think about what they would use it for afterwards.
You shouldn't only build it for 2 weeks, and then let it rot away.

[monty]

as someone who lived in the area since 2011, and still lives 15 minutes away, i find this video to be almost very accurate. The park itself and the olympics have really helped transform stratford into a central hub for east london. the railway connections that have been established since mean that stratford is now one of the most interconnected regions in london and pairing this with the repurposed venues, westfield and other businesses means the area has economically been a success both for the local governments but also the wider commuity of stratford.

what the video fails to mention however is the ongoing construction for a new unversity campus, but also plans for redeveloping/regenerating the poorer surrounding areas to increase the land value of the whole project. Many lower income families are being forced to move out of council homes and their residence in order for contruction companies to be able to demolish and rebuild property which is unaffordable to the displaced residents. this is a great concern for families and people in the immediate neighborhood adjascent to the park.

[manavmishra]

Legacy for local people and creating sporting culture in host city..should be the ultimate reason for hosting Olympics in any city.

[stevenroshni]

The fact that Tokyo had to go on without spectators or visitors shows why it's important to make sure the whole investment isn't for one event.

[mikeruchington]

My college uses the cycling centre regularly. We got to use the full mountain bike trails, bmx track and road circuit. I saw Beyoncé in the London stadium. Not even mentioning the shopping centre I couldn’t live without, London did a great job.

[Wasserfeld.]

It's a bit more than this. The Olympic Park wouldn't be as successful without the other developments. Westfield Stratford opened just before the Olympics, which brings millions to the area - many then take a walk in the park. Stratford station is an important hub and was upgraded for the games. Plans for rebuilding are now being drawn up (too crowded). The promise of Crossrail opening (next year), added to the desirability of the area (direct trains to Heathrow). Stratford International, was also added to the HS1 project (opened 2007), as part of regeneration plans for Stratford. International trains just pass through; Kent trains stop instead, but it's still direct access to St Pancras & Kings Cross, where Scotland, France, Belgium, Netherlands just requires a change of trains. The DLR extension also makes City Airport direct, while the Jubilee line is 10 mins to Canary Wharf.

Since 2012, loads of homes have been built - the Athletes Village was refurbished for people to buy/rent homes and 1000s more, plus a school have been constructed alongside. New offices and apartment high rises have been built next to the Westfield, with many still being constructed. The old Stratford Shopping Centre across from the main station is actually busier than ever, although they plan on redeveloping that.

Stratford has become a regeneration success and it shows what can be done when multiple organisations work together. Must be said though, there are concerns about pushing people out and that shouldn't be forgotten.

[BillyPhilipRwoth]

I visited the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2019, and I was impressed at how the facilities are still put to proper use, and not left to rot away like in other Olympic cities. Good job London!

[davidsherley]

I live in the US. I’ve visited or worked in NYC, Chicago, Boston, Phoenix, Cincinnati, Columbus (OH), San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas & Seattle. I’ve also done a six week stint in London. The level of thoughtfulness and quality of architecture and urban planning in London is head and shoulders above anything I’ve seen in the US. The London Olympic venue is just one of countless examples.

[canismajoris]

Hmm, turns out that giving Olympics to countries that aren't insanely corrupt or poor turns out better than the alternative.

[Val-kpfs]

They say the stadiums & buildings in Rio are rotting & basically condemnable. I hope that all cities that are granted host of the games take a note from London and think about their future & local citizens when building all of the Olympic venues.

[ElsenyoPol]

Barcelona 92, the best modern Olympic Games are also the ones which have been the most transformative and beneficial to the host city. From the Olympic Port to the “villa olímpica” housing, to infrastructure like “les rondes” or the expansion of Barcelona’s “El Prat Airport”. An incredible success story that changed millions of residents’ lives.

[dannynoakes]

Was at the London Stadium on Saturday just gone to watch West Ham, it’s amazing to see how the area is beautifully kept clean and still looks as good as new, I think that it’s been a good job to do so, and I hope it remains for years to come

[EruksTeejay]

Wooow, just few days ago, I was just talking about how the London 2012 Olympics experience has been my best Olympics moment ever. London really did put up a great show!!!! Glad to know that the Legacy is preserved. 🥰🥰

[scottwhitley]

We bash ourselves but the Olympic park, CrossRail and Queensferry crossing proves we can still build big projects. Wish the government would get fully behind HS2.

[saltyseabear]

one thing that is also missing from this is the media centre up at Here East at the top of the park was turned into Loughborough University (London Campus) - Loughbourgh famously known for sports and getting your P.E. Teacher Qualifications and also BT Sport have a studio still in the building and there are many other retail units right on the canal that are also always busy. As someone who volunteered at the Games and still volunteers at the park as well as at large sporting events. I always feel its like coming home when I go to the Olympic Park for the first time in a while. I still get goosebumps and remember how the games brought the city together. I won't forget the opening ceremony either and how it showcased the UK and also that we have hosted the modern games now 3 times. Great you showed the London 2017 Athletics in this video that was a massive event for the stadium, just a pity you didn't show some of the annual events that happen in the Velodrome and on the Hockey and Tennis pitches. Also London has a basketball team that play at the Copper Box.
Let's hope this legacy continues, oh and sometimes you get to see Tom Daly and the other divers at the Aquatic Centre training.

[cmw]

I go through the Olympic park nearly every day and the restoration of the river and canal is by far the best legacy. The industrial wasteland around the polluted river is totally transformed for the good of the whole East London community. While there's some criticism of the Legacy Corporation's commercial committee prescriptions for new development of Hackney Wick and Fish Island across the canal where I now live and a lot of artist and creatives have lived in industrial buildings since well before the Olympics, it is improving the area overall even if it's at the expense of gentrification in an area that some say didn't need to be part of the redevelopment. Trying to maintain that warehouse feel and community of individuality while centrally planning and prescribing the design of every new modern building was never going to work but that's one of the few criticisms of the legacy plan.

The London Olympics site was built in an urban area that was a post industrial wasteland surrounded by Stratford on one side and Hackney on the other so the value and impact on surrounding communities, some of which are very close and densely populated, was bound to be great and it's still growing.

[AmberKingmusic]

I'm from Southern California and when I saw the plan for The 2028 games I was very happy because LA has the infrastructure already and they are making use of that. Using the local universities dorms as the Olympic and Paralympic village just makes sense, making use of the different stadiums and event centers because we really don't need more I can name 5-6 just off the tip of my head and they are all within 30-40 mins of each other. I think there are 2 formulas for a great games and legacy after those which build for the community like the London Games and those which use the Community like LA's plan, I was really sad Rio just didn't care about it's local communities and saw it as a very temporary event.

[michaelt]

as a londoner, i dont think it matters if it ends up costing money.
public spaces and the legacy of huge publicly funded projects should benefit the community

[AKASANJEEWA]

I was here 2 weeks ago and it's a bustling area with the nearby mall and all the offices moved in to this area. Its amazing how things worked out better than other olympic villages