London's Temporary Olympic Stadium Could Go Permanent

Posted by: Nate Berg

30 June 2009 - 7:00am

Officials in London are changing their minds about the main stadium being built for the 2012 Summer Olympics, which was intended to be a semi-temporary structure. Now they want it to be permanent.

The possibility of the stadium serving as a venue for a possible 2018 World Cup hosting gig has caused Olympics legacy chief Baroness Ford to reconsider earlier plans.

"The move signals a drastic u-turn on the original legacy plan for the Olympics, which envisaged the stadium as a semi-temporary venue which would be converted into a smaller, 25,000-capacity sports school and athletic ground in ‘legacy mode’.

According to the Evening Standard, Ford said she was convinced the ‘beautiful’ stadium could pay its way as an all-year ‘visitor attraction’ and become part of London’s ‘iconic offer’."

Full Story: Stadium faces redesign in drastic London Olympic rethink

Source: The Architects' Journal, June 29, 2009