September 20 - The Olympic Park being built for London 2012 has welcomed its 100,000th visitor as part of Open House weekend.



For the fourth year running the Olympic Park opened to the public with more than 4,000 people joining bus tours around the site to see the progress being made in the "big build" of the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Velodrome, Main Press Centre, Olympic Village, Handball and Basketball Arenas, infrastructure and parklands.

People attending Open House also had the opportunity to meet Olympians John Regis, Tessa Sanderson and Mark Foster as well as key figures involved in the design, construction and legacy of the Olympic Park and the running of the Games themselves.

Alongside Open House the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) runs regular daily, evening and weekend tours of the Olympic Park for local people, schools, Host Boroughs and a huge range of organisations, which have hosted 100,000 visitors to date.

The 100,000th Olympic Park visitor, Siobhan McDermott from Hackney said: "It was spectacular to get up close to the venues that we've seen develop over the last four years.

"It was particularly special to stand at the end of the 100m straight in the Olympic Stadium with John Regis.

"I'm looking forward to coming back in 2012.”
 
ODA chairman John Armitt said: "Seeing is believing and we have tried to open up the Olympic Park ‘big build’ to as many people as possible so they can see for themselves the progress being made.

"Open House is a great opportunity for thousands of people to return each year and follow the transformation of what was a predominantly industrial area into a new part of London with world class sports venues, housing and infrastructure set in a fantastic new park.”
 
Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, said: "Watching the Olympic Park coming out of the ground over the last few years and transforming the east London skyline has been inspiring.

"It has been vital to ensure that the local community have been able to see the progress being made and I’m delighted that so many people have visited.

"This year’s Open House will enable thousands more to witness the transformation first-hand as we look forward to the Games in 2012 - and beyond."