Olympic Park: Our Top Five Tips
To Do List spent Monday evening in the Olympic Stadium, watching rehearsals for Friday’s Opening Ceremony.
We would post loads of pictures, and tell you all about it, but that would spoil the surprise – so make do with this list of ignore-at-your-peril tips if you’re planning to visit the Olympic Park this summer:
- Water: Bring empty bottles which you can fill up at water fountains in the area when you first cross the bridge to the park. Please note if you go through to the ‘Stadium Island’ you cannot go back to the water fountains. Oh, and there were big queues.
- Security: Airport style security performed by Army in uniform. No liquids over 100ml and all the other usual restriction. One restriction we found slightly surreal was ‘no cats’. Sadly, this means Jude (the To Do List cat) will have to sell her top-price ticket for the Synchronised Swimming finals. Only one soft-sided bag allowed.
- Food: The cheapest food is from McDonalds, which have a monopoly over the park. Their meals are around £4.30 whereas meals from all other food concessions are £8.50 (choices include Fish & Chips, Indian Curries, Panini and Pies). Again, once you go through to ‘Stadium Island’, there’s no return to the general area. We’d recommend bringing your own food and having a picnic by the river or eating nearby in Westfield or Stratford Town Centre. Please note: there are large queues for all food and drink concessions.
- Drinks: Beer is Heineken £4.60 a pint or £4.30 a bottle, cider £4.30, Coke £2.30 and Water £1.60.
- Map & Exit Strategy: Download the Olympic Park Map here. We recommend having a look at the park map before you go. Most walking times recommended by the signage are very generous. Allow up to 20 minutes to walk to your venue. We were misdirected to West Ham on our way out which is a very long walk. However, the other way where you head straight on to Westfield was under strict crowd control, especially the stairs before you get to Stratford Underground Station.
If you were there last night, or maybe have been working on the site, email stu@todolist.london if you have any more tips you think we should add. We’ll put all the good ones below…
Claire Says:
We left by Greenway Gate, and once we’d crossed the bridge we left the path and got out onto the A11. Got a bus home easily – loads of empty buses despite no Central Line. It was fab! Westbound 25, 425, and 339 buses go that way.
I am Joint Editor at To Do List. I like free, cheap & offbeat London, especially: cabaret, art, theatre, pop-ups, eating out, quirky films, museums, day trips, social enterprise & much more.
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