At the heart of the action of the 2012 London Olympic Games, the Olympic Stadium has finally reached full height, 60m above the field of play, and is on track to be finished by the end of summer 2011. One innovative aspect of this stadium is that the lighting towers are located above the Stadium roof to ensure the best lighting angles and to avoid dazzling spectators, photographers and competitors.
Various Facts & Figures:
- 80,000 seats in Games mode and flexible design allows venue to be scaled back to 25,000 seats in legacy
- 33 buildings had to be demolished and over 800,000 tons of soil was taken away to help create the construction platform for the Olympic Stadium – enough to fill the Royal Albert Hall nine times over
- The total Stadium site covers an area of 40 acres
- The Stadium has a total floor area of 108,500sq m in Games time
- At 53m above ground level, the Olympic Stadium is taller than Nelson’s Column (50m)
- The Stadium will contain around 10,000 tons of steel – it will be the lightest Olympic Stadium constructed to date
- More than 4,500 reinforced concrete columns were installed to act as the foundations
- The Stadium is surrounded by water on three sides so five new bridges and their abutments are now in place, connecting the Stadium island to the rest of the Park
- There will be around 700 rooms and spaces within the Stadium, including changing rooms and toilets.
To watch the progress of the Olympic Stadium on webcam, click here.
To read more news about the London Games, please visit the official Web site, www.london2012.com.
