London Stadium, Stratford

Walking around Stratford, today, it is hard to imagine that, up until twenty years ago, this was an area of London that was in dire need of regeneration.

Much of the area was derelict industrial wasteland, part of which was radioactive due to Queen Mary College's Department of Nuclear Engineering, having a small nuclear reactor onsite. Something needed to be done.

In 2001, following China's successful bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games, London put in a bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. Two plans were short-listed: 

1. West London - Based around Wembley and the construction of a new National Stadium to replace Wembley Stadium.
2. East London - Involving the regeneration of an area stretching from the Isle of Dogs, through Stratford, and on into the Lower Lea Valley.

The second plan won unanimously and so became the pitch for the London bid.

In May 2005, London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics.

Construction

In May 2008, after the 'bowl' of the stadium had been excavated and the area cleared, construction of the stadium began. It was due to be completed in May 2011, but was completed in March of 2011, coming in under budget and ahead of schedule.

The foundation consists of 5,000 piles, driven to a depth of 20 m (66 ft)

In October 2011, the athletics track was laid. The track-and-field area is surrounded by 25,000 permanent seats, built using concrete.

Spectators and visitors enter the stadium at the podium level, which is inline with the top of the permanent seating. This upper tier was built from lightweight steel and concrete and accommodated another 55,000 spectators. The upper tier is 60 m (197 ft) in height.

Part of the design involved having a 'wrap' surrounding the stadium, but this idea was dropped, in 2010. However, in early 2011, the wrap was reintroduced to cut down on cross winds. The wrap was made from polyester and polyethylene and ultraviolet curable inks were used for the printing and consisted of pieces of material measuring 20 m (66 ft) by 900 m (2952 ft). 

The roof, which covered two thirds of the seating and hung 70 m (230 ft) above the arena, was cable-supported and held fourteen lighting towers. From outside this gave the stadium the look of a royal crown. The lights were officially switched on, in December 2010, by Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson.

During the Olympic Games four of these towers were fitted with large view screens, while the remaining ten illuminated the arena. Collectively, the lighting towers contained a total of 532 individual 2 kW floodlight lamps.

The Olympic Stadium was nominated for the Stirling Prize in architecture, in 2012, but lost to the University of Cambridge's Sainsbury Laboratory.

Post Games

There were many bidders, beginning in 2006, that wanted to use the London Stadium, once the Olympic Games had finished. Leyton Orient, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham Football Clubs all put in bids to use it as a football stadium. The England and Wales Cricket Board, Essex County Cricket Club, Kent County Cricket Club, Middlesex County Cricket Club along with Wasps and Saracens Rugby Football Clubs. Even Major League Baseball were one of the over 100 interested parties.

In November 2010, two parties were shortlisted: A joint bid between Tottenham Hostspur and Anschutz Entertainment Group, and another joint bid from West Ham United and Newham Council.

What followed was years of legal disputes and various interested parties changing or pulling out of deals. Eventually the lease was granted to West Ham Football Club, who would pay £2.5 million per year for the 99-year lease. It was discovered that this fee wouldn't even cover the cost of staging matches, which would place the club in more debt. The lease did not include the cost for the heating, pitch maintenance, police or stewards. A bitter legal dispute would continue, between West Ham Football Club and E20 Stadium Company, which would be settled in 2018, with an out-of-court settlement.

The E20 Stadium Company, renamed E20 LLP, oversaw the transformation of the stadium into the only venue, in the UK, to be a World Athletics category 1 stadium, but also a UEFA category 4 stadium. £15 million was paid by West Ham Football Club, while Newham Council paid £40 million for the work, while the remainder was paid by the British Government and the London Legacy Development Corporation.

The new transparent roof was twice the size of the original, covering 45,000 sq metres. The lighting towers were removed and placed beneath the new roof, removing the stadium's crown-like appearance.

West Ham played their first match in their home on August 4, 2016, when they played MK Donzale in a Europa League match, which West Ham won 3-0.

Watford were the first Premier league team to beat West Ham, at the London Stadium, with a convincing 4-2 win.

Athletics, baseball, charity football matches, motorsport and rugby union have all used the London Stadium, over the years.

The stadium has also been turned into a concert venue, with AC/DC being the first to play there, on June 4, 2016. Since then Depeche Mode, Guns N' Roses, Robbie Williams, The Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, Muse, Green Day and many more have played to sell out crowds at the stadium.

Steve Harris, founder and bassist of Iron Maiden, was born not far from the London Stadium and is a die-hard West Ham fan. As such, on June 28, 2025, Iron Maiden played the London Stadium in a 'homecoming' event as part of their 'Run For Your Lives' world tour, in Iron Maiden's 50th year.