Olympic Stadium To Re-open In July
The Olympic Stadium is set to re-open in July with a series of rock concerts, according to media reports, with concert promoters allegedly impressed by the live music put on display during the closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games – which included the Spice Girls, Coldplay, the Pet Shop Boys, The Who, Jessie J and George Michael amongst others.
While it is believed that final contracts are yet to be signed, there are rumours of some concerts traditionally held at Hyde Park moving east to the Olympic Park.
Hyde Park has hosted rock concerts for decades but the number of noise complaints have almost doubled since 2008, leading to organisers looking elsewhere for potential venues.
Last year Westminster Council reduced the number of annual concerts from 13 to 9, and also cut the capacity from 80,000 to as little as 50,000 in some cases.
The area south of the Olympic Stadium, which includes the Aquatic Centre and Orbit Tower, will not be opened fully to the public until spring 2014 but the north of the park, with the Handball Arena, waterways and parklands, should be available to residents permanently this summer.
The indoor Handball Arena, now renamed the Copper Box, will be used for recreational sport such as five-a-side football and badminton as well as staging professional sports such as boxing and some indoor concerts.
