Basic HTML Version
Buckingham Palace) were one could enjoy
the view of London Eye and of St. James
behind the beach volleyball field.
The Westfield Stratford City commercial
centre (the largest urban shopping mall in
Europe) was built next to the Olympic Park.
Legacy and future of the Olympic Park
The most important legacy of the Games
in London are national pride in a city that a
year before was chaotic and great respect
towards people with mental or physical di-
sabilities, in addition to the desire of starting
to live a healthier life. In fact, we are already
seeing how people are signing up at gyms
and sports clubs and the Government has
announced that it would be increasing
sports training at schools.
The legacy, however, goes beyond “mens
sana in corpore sano”. The “feel good fac-
tor” is the key legacy of the games. Lon-
doners have already forgotten the Post-
Olympic Depression (POD), and we are not
that concerned about the constant rain in
our city or about the economic crisis. The
“feel good factor” has convinced us that we
will be able to surmount the most difficult
times.
A good example of this new karma is the
Olympic slogan “Inspire a generation”. This
theme, which seemed a bit corny to me
and to many other Londoners, has now
become the national zeitgeist. Personally,
I am happy to see that for the media and
the younger generation, athletes are now
considered new the new heroes instead of
celebrities and tabloid personalities.
As to the infrastructures, the Olympic Park
will become the Queen Elizabeth Olympic
Park, the largest urban park in London after
the investment of 300 million pounds (more
than 360 million Euros). Only two structu-
res are still awaiting their final destination:
the Communications Centre, built by FCC,
and the Olympic Stadium, which has many
suitors, from the West Ham United soccer
club to Bernie Ecclestone, the head of For-
mula One who has made an offer for insta-
lling a racing circuit at these facilities.
Londoners now just have to wait for our
Ambassador of the Olympic Legacy, Se-
bastian Coe, the Government of David Ca-
meron, and our charismatic mayor, Boris
Johnson, to help us all become members
of the “GB Team” forever and not just in this
magic summer of 2012.
The new Westfield commercial centre in East London.
The slogan of the Olympic Games: “Inspire a generation”.