The real London Legacy
By John Cushing Nov 2023
There's not many things in life you can say you were there from the beginning to the end. Many designers and builders of a bygone era often didn't even see the fruits of their labour even completed!
In 2012, I was lucky enough to change my role at Global Radio, and become the Olympic correspondent for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. But coming in with 7 months to go before the Games, I was the new-boy and had missed so much of the debate and discussion about the building of the stadium, the other venues etc. I think it took three months of turning up at weekly media conferences with London 2012 organisers before the head of comms even spoke to me!
So I must admit, arriving at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park the other week, for the official opening of East Bank by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, I felt pretty privileged to be standing in one of the first buildings to open, the London College of Fashion, with it's incredible design inside and outside - just look at that staircase! If that doesn't inspire the next generation. I can remember being told about East Bank, what it was, where it was going to be, and who was going to be there more than 6 years ago, but not really having a clear idea of the concept or how it would sit in the Park. Since then, and Anything but Footy working with the London Legacy Development Corporation on their podcasts, I've been there, heard and seen the construction work, made several episodes about it, seen the topping out and now its first doors open! The buzz in the Park with students (incredibly well dressed I will also say as you'd expect from fashion students!) is tangible and as further development continues the future is exciting with much more to come! V&A East and its first exhibition in 2025 already announced, celebrating Black British Music, the BBC Studios and Sadlers Wells all opening in the coming months, will all bring new visitors and people to the Park. And as we heard on our latest episode of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park podcast - people who can't even really remember London 2012!
I'll always remember it, but I'll always remember the opportunity I've had since to see the development and record it for ever more. East Bank is the biggest arts, cultural, innovation and educational development since the Great Exhibition, and like London 2012, it should rightly take its place in the history books and benefit generations to come!
