The IBC, together with the Main Press Centre at Hackney Wick, will support around 20,000 broadcasters, photographers and journalists bringing the 2012 London Games to a worldwide audience of four billion people.

The steel frame is 275m long, 104m wide, 21m tall and big enough to house five jumbo jets. Work is now underway on the roof lining, and work is about to start on flooring and cladding.

The Main Press Centre (MPC) is also underway and expected to be finished this autumn.

Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) chairman John Armitt said: “The ‘big build’ is on track with construction underway on all permanent venues. "The IBC/MPC is taking shape in the skyline as work accelerates on infrastructure and venues across the Olympic Park including the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Olympic Village, and Velodrome.

“The IBC/MPC is a challenging project with a tight deadline and were on track to provide a quality working environment for media during the Games and flexible employment space for a range of potential legacy tenants and users.”

Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, said: “Whilst the focus of the world will be on the sporting venues in 2012, the IBC will be a vital, yet mostly unseen part of Games-time operations, pumping out hundreds of thousands of hours of the sporting action around the world and providing a hub for the tens of thousands of broadcast media who will be telling the stories of our Games. "It is exciting to see the progress being made on this part of the project and the fantastic work being done by the ODA and its contractors will ensure that the entire world can share in London 2012 - and after the Games has packed up and left town, the area will be left state of the art office facilities which can benefit Hackney for years to come.”

The building will provide 900,000 square feet of business space but is still looking for a tenant for after the Games.

Sir Peter Rogers, the chief executive of the London Development Agency (LDA), who are leading the search for a tenant said: "The LDA is committed to creating employment and skills opportunities for Londoners through the Olympic Games, and this is another step in the media centre site becoming a major employment driver in legacy.  
 
"The design refinements along with the structural enhancements to be made after the Games will provide greater flexibility in splitting the building into different configurations for legacy tenants.

"We are delighted to have reached this milestone and look forward to a smooth transition of the project over to the Olympic Park Legacy Company."


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