In 2012 London hosted the all-singin’, all-dancin’ Olympics and Paralympics that saw some 15,000 athletes compete in almost 50 sports for 800 medals. Join a walking tour along the River Lea and around the Olympic Park area, with views of some of the dozen stadiums and sporting halls, and learn how London’s ‘inspirational bid’ beat Paris and other cities to hold the first fully sustainable games and transform a derelict area of East London. True Olympic fans might want to continue south to the O2 (formerly the Millennium Dome) and ExCel Convention Centre, where certain contact and team sports took place and are now linked by the Emirates Air Line cable car. Across the river is leafy Greenwich, whose massive park hosted the equestrian events. View slideshow ↓
Did You Know?
The Lee River Valley was once the centre of London’s ‘stink industries’, such as tanning and gunpowder manufacture, and the river itself was considered a fire hazard.
