About the 2012 Games

The Park is located in the Lower Lea Valley - an area of great untapped potential.

After the Games the area will be transformed into the largest urban park created in Europe for more than 150 years.

Building work began three months early with the start of construction of the Olympic Stadium in May 2008.

It will provide thousands of beds for athletes during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Along with this accommodation, it will comprise shops, restaurants, medical, media and leisure facilities, large areas of open space and a water feature.

The Village will also include an 'International Zone' where athletes can meet with friends and family. The plan retains London's tradition of building homes around communal squares and courtyards, with water features accentuating the closeness of the River Lea.

Athletes will have an inspirational view over the Park. Every apartment will provide comfortable accommodation and state-of-the-art communications facilities, including internet access and wireless networking. All the apartment blocks will be fully accessible and equipped with modern lifts.

Athletes will have easy access to the travel and leisure facilities of the adjacent Stratford City complex, and the High Speed 1 Javelin® shuttle service will link the Village to central London in just seven minutes.

During the Games the Village will include 'back of house' operations, and services for athletes such as catering and transport; the majority of these will be accommodated in temporary structures on sites that can be cleared for development immediately after the Games.

Passengers will feel the benefits of improved transport services around the Olympic Park two years before the Games start.
Work to treble the capacity at Stratford Regional Station along with access improvements in and around the station will be finished by the end of 2010.

Other transport projects that will be finished well before the Games include the extension of the Dockland Light Rail (DLR) service from two-car trains to a three-car train service, boosting on-board capacity by 50 per cent on the majority of the network.

New trains, platforms, lifts and bigger stations are all being added to enhance the London and UK transport system. People will also be encouraged to be more active by walking and cycling shorter journeys.