Park Live

Park Live was a live music site in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park during the London 2012 Olympics. It was a specially built area accommodating over 15,000 spectators and park visitors, and was the first time a live site of this type had been created inside an Olympic Park.

The Park Live festival

It was funded by British Airways and other commercial partners, and the National Lottery, and formed part of a programme of 70 live sites across the United Kingdom during the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Park Live area was the fifth largest venue on the London 2012 Olympic Park.

During the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Park Live hosted approximately one million spectators. It also broadcast coverage of sporting events from inside Olympic Park venues and from other games venues around the UK.

Location

Park Live was located in the northern part of the Olympic Park, sited in a wetland bowl on banks of the River Lea. It straddled Sectors 5 and 6 of the Olympic Park and spanned two London Boroughs (the Park Live East Lawns were in the London Borough of Newham and the Park Live West Lawns were in the London Borough of Hackney) and was situated between the Velodrome, Basketball Arena, Copper Box and the Riverbank Arena.

Games coverage

At the heart of Park Live was a huge temporary structure built on stilts in the River Lea, consisting of two giant Panasonic screens broadcasting live coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games from 7am until midnight on every day of the games. This structure also included the British Airways Stage, where medal-winning athletes were interviewed live after competing, a VIP green room for athletes and guests, and live production facilities for 30 staff. The screens also broadcast daily games highlights, sport information films and sponsor messages. Approximately 4,200 square metres (45,000 sq ft) of reclaimed parklands were dedicated to the site.

During the London 2012 games Park Live became known as the "Henman Hill" of the Olympic Park and was regularly featured in national and international news and television coverage, with broadcasters frequently cutting to Park Live for crowd reaction to sporting events, and reporters conducting vox pops and interviews with spectators.

Each day of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Park Live played host to numerous celebrities and medal-winning athletes including, Sir Chris Hoy, Jessica Ennis, Ben Ainslie, Rebecca Adlington, Dame Kelly Holmes, Denise Lewis OBE and Lord Sebastian Coe.

Awards

In March 2013 Park Live presented by British Airways was awarded the title of "Best Live Experience of 2012' at the BT Sport Industry Awards in London.

Future Plans

Plans are currently under discussion to create similar Park Live and live site experiences at future Olympic and Paralympic Games.

References

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