Here East

Here East is a media complex located in the Olympic Park in East London, built specially for the 2012 London Olympics. It is located at the site of the former Hackney Wick Stadium close to the Riverbank Arena in Hackney Wick.[3]

Here East
Here East complex in 2016
Here East is located in London Borough of Newham
Here East
Location within London Borough of Newham
Former namesLondon Olympics Media Centre (2011–2014)
General information
TypeTelevision broadcast facilities, International Broadcast Centre (formerly)
AddressQueen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E15 2GW
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates51°32′50″N 0°01′20″W
Cost£355m ($473m)[1]
Renovation cost£90m ($120m)[2]
Technical details
Floor area1,200,000 sq ft (110,000 m2)[2]
Website
Official website

During the Olympics and Paralympics, the complex was named the London Olympics Media Centre. It was later refurbished and renamed to Here East.[4]

History

London Olympics Media Centre
The London Olympics Media Centre (incorporating the International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre) in June 2011

At the time of the Olympic bid it was intended that the complex would be privately financed on the basis that the building would have residual value from alternative uses after the games.[1] As of December 2009, the Olympic Delivery Authority had allocated £702 million of Programme and Funders’ contingency, largely to cover the decisions to publicly fund the Village and Media Centre after it became clear private funding could not be secured on acceptable terms during the 2008 to 2010 economic crisis.[5]

The complex was a 24-hour media hub that catered for over 20,000 broadcasters, photographers and print journalists facilitating broadcasts to 4 billion people worldwide.[6] It contained an International Broadcast Centre (IBC) and a Main Press Centre (MPC).[6]

The design of the complex, which was 275 metres (902 ft) long, was by Allies and Morrison.[6] It had a catering village and a multi-storey car park to link the two main venues (the IBC and the MPC) together.[6] The construction cost was £355 million[1] and the main contractor was Carillion.[7] It was completed in July 2011.[8]

Legacy

Following the games, the property firm Delancey formed a joint venture with Infinity SDC to convert the Olympic broadcast and press centre into a tech hub for corporations. The joint venture was called iCity,[9] with Laing O'Rourke being appointed to carry out the £150 million redevelopment of the Broadcasting Centre.[10] Consultants Buro Happold provided the engineering design, working in collaboration with architects Hawkins\Brown.[2]

The complex was designed to create some 900,000 square feet (84,000 m2) of business space as part of the legacy of the games.[11] BT Sport broadcast from the centre from its inception in August 2013,[12] to its rebranding in July 2023 and had three studios there.[13]

In February 2014 the site was renamed Here East.[14] It went on to accommodate campuses for Staffordshire University, Loughborough University and University College London as well as Plexal, a co-working location for start-up businesses.[15]

References
  1. Gibson, Owen (21 January 2009). "Government forced to bail out major Olympic projects". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  2. "Here East". Hawkins\Brown. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  3. "Olympic Park runners savour their day". Headway. 4 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  4. "Here East". Buro Happold. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  5. "Preparations for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games: Progress report February 2010". Nao.org.uk. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  6. "London 2012 Media Centre London : IBC/MPC Building". e-architect. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  7. "Women make their mark on the 2012 Olympic site". BBC. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  8. "IBC / MPC". London 2012. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  9. "A new digital quarter for London". iCITY London. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  10. "O'Rouke to win £150m Olympic media centre". Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  11. "London 2012 media centre to leave green business and employment space in legacy". London 2012. 13 March 2009. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  12. "BT Sport to make iCity and the Olympic Broadcast Centre its production home" (Press release). BT Group. 29 November 2012. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  13. "Studio 3". Timeline Television Ltd. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  14. "iCITY approved and new name revealed". Hackney Council. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  15. "Inside the world of Here East where businesses can grow and prosper". Newham Recorder. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
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