Olympic Stadium Plans Unveiled

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has unveiled the designs for the main stadium of the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. Designed by HOK Sport's the ‘stadium bowl’ will hold 25,000 permanent seats, surrounded by 55,000 demountable seats that will taken away after the Games.

After the Games, it will be transformed into a 25,000 capacity Athletics stadium and will host a variety of sporting, educational, cultural and community events. It will be a sustainable and vibrant facility, attracting other businesses and investment and acting as a hub for the communities living in and around the Olympic Park.

The main features of the design are:

• Bowl - a sunken bowl built into the ground for the field of play and lower permanent seating, designed to bring spectators close to the action;
• Seats – 25,000 permanent, 55,000 demountable;
• Roof - a cable supported roof will stretch 28 metres the whole way around the Stadium, providing cover for two thirds of spectators;
• Wrap – a fabric curtain will wrap around the stadium structure, acting as additional protection and shelter for spectators; and
• Pods – facilities such as catering and merchandising will be grouped into self-contained ‘pod’ structures, adding to the spectator experience around the access level of the Stadium.

Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee Seb Coe said:
'We talk a lot about milestones, but few will be more exciting than this, the unveiling of the Olympic Stadium, which will be the centre piece of our Olympic Park. The stadium will stand for everything we talked about in the bid: it will be inspiring, innovative and sustainable – the theatre within which the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games will be played out and leaving behind top class sporting and community facilities after the Games."