Vol. 7 No. 02 (2010): Cultural Landscapes
Articles

Olympics legacy: The London Olympics 2012

Gülşen Güler
Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Landscape Architecture, Istanbul, TURKEY
Robert Holden
University of Greenwich, Landscape and Garden Design Department, London, ENGLAND

Published 2010-11-01

Keywords

  • Olympics,
  • London,
  • Olympic Park,
  • Legacy,
  • Regeneration

Abstract

The reasons for proposing a London 2012 bid are outlined in the light of London city planning over the past sixty years. The processes influencing the bid for the London 2012 Olympics are investigated in respect of the lessons from Barcelona and Sydney. The role of environmental and landscape improvement is examined and the importance of legacy is described and analysed. The cost of Olympiads since Sydney 2000 are described and compared. Then progress of the London 2012 Olympics development is described relative to regeneration of East London. Finally the effects of current proposals to cut back the costs of the 2012 Olympics are considered. Olympic Games play significant roles in host city’s economy as well as other outcomes such as tourism, culture, unemployment, infrastructure. However the economy can never describe the whole picture of Olympic Games’ gainnings, it is one of the most significant sign before, during and after the event. All of the expenditures have different values at different legacy levels. Although post election budget cut-backs in the United Kingdom have placed a question mark on the costs; the proposed urban legacy make the city beautiful and London East End livable.