The start of the handover of the Olympic Park has been marked by the London 2012 Organising Committee and the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC)
The programme of work to transform the Olympic Park site after the Games is well underway. In just six weeks since the Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony a significant proportion of the temporary overlay has already been removed from the Olympic Park.
The start of handover means that the LLDC have taken operational control of the Olympic Park (perimeter security, access control and logistics operations) and associated areas. The Legacy Corporation will then begin works to transform the Park into a new part of London, to be known as Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, through a 292m construction project.
The Aquatics Centre, the Velodrome and the Basketball Arena have now been handed over to LLDC, the Copper Box will be handed over and the Olympic Stadium and Press and Broadcast Centres will be handed over in December.
Meanwhile, LOCOG is also preparing to hand over the Olympic Village to the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) so that a large-scale retrofitting programme can begin, transforming the 2,818 apartments and houses into East Village a new community for London from 2013 onwards.
Seb Coe, LOCOG Chair, said: The UK hosted a spectacular Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer. We have now begun the first chapter of the lasting legacy we promised when we bid for the Games.We began our work straight after the Games to transform the venues, parklands and facilities in the Olympic Park to ensure generations to come will benefit from a golden summer. I congratulate my team for taking out all the temporary structures so quickly so that the job of transformation continues quickly.