The Olympic budget has increased to a whopping $18.3 billion, causing rational people to question what will happen to the mammoth structures rising out of those billions of British pounds. London has done a fairly decent job, with very few venues needing to be built from scratch. There are 43 sites for the London Olympic Games. While the Olympics offer the promise of urban spatial transformation, the results are often far from the early ambitions of the planners and idealists. There has even been talk that the Olympics put the Greek economy into a tailspin. With over $1.2 billion in security alone and nearly $11 billion in total costs, there is little to no money for maintenance of the once celebrated structures. We only have to look back a few short years to the Athens Olympic Games of 2004 to see the fissure between the spectacle scenario of the event and the chaos an ultimate abandonment of the sites after the athletes and spectators have left town.
What we didn’t see on TV are the thousands of people kicked out of their homes and businesses in the name of world sport and the Olympic ‘spirit.’ So the question still remains, despite all the talk of planning and paying attention to the post-Olympic let down: what is REALLY going to happen to the buildings, the open spaces, and the people that had to relocate all in the name of tradition? And they’re hardly something to point to as a model of sustainability. Yet for all intents and purposes, the Games are still an aggressive rally against thousands of displaced residents. They have stepped into the zone rarely taken by architects of impermanent place making.
Most of the major sporting structures will decrease in size following the closing ceremonies, or transition into other programs and uses. London has introduced concepts of temporality in its buildings, unlike previous Olympic host cities. Finally, after 30 previous Summer Games where the host cities have seemed to plan with the spectacle in mind, and then proceed with a wish and a prayer that somehow the sites will be used after the event, the planning committees have asked, ‘Hey, maybe we should figure out what to do with this stuff when the 14 days are over’?
The London Olympic Committee, for all intents and purposes, has done a fairly progressive job of planning for the temporary nature of the Olympics. The next question that begs analysis, and dare I say it, the delightfully sarcastic judgment that so often begets British dialogue, is what happens next? When the athletes, officials, tourists, and hoards of security and soldiers leave the Games to patiently wait for the next spectacle of outstanding athletic feats, what is the next phase of Danny Boyle’s English dream?
Louis Rams and New England Patriots will play the latest installment of the NFL International Series at Wembley.Just as Danny Boyle’s cinematic representation of England’s transition from a pastoral, farming nation to the leaders of the industrial revolution, London’s East End has been going through a transition of its own in preparation for the Olympic Games. At more than 1,000 feet, it the longest single span roof structure in the world.Īfter the Games, Wembley Stadium will continue to host major sporting events, including the FA Cup and FA Community Shield. The stadium's signature feature is the arch that soars as high as 436 feet and supports the roof. Wembley Stadium, with a seating capacity of 90,000, is the second-largest venue in the Summer Games, behind the Olympic Stadium, and comes equipped with a retractable roof to deal with England's most famous weather pattern (hint: it's rain). It was the site of the 2011 Champions League Final (and will be again in 2013) and also hosts the yearly NFL game played in London. As the regular home to England's national football team, Wembley is no stranger to marquee events. One of the most famous venues for sports in the entire world will play host to much of the soccer competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, including the gold medal matches for both the men's and women's tournaments. Toilets: 2,618 (more than any other venue in the world as of 2007) Construction: Built between 20, at a cost of approximately $1.2 billion