2012 Ambassadors: latest blog

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Jun Zhong and Ireti Lawal, 2012 Ambassadors and both from Hackney recently went on a free tour around the Olympic Park to see how the stadium was shaping up. Young Hackney went along for the ride:

The tour was the first activity that Ireti has done as an Olympic Ambassador and she said she was impressed: "Amazing! The park was much bigger than I expected."

Ireti says that part of her role as an Ambassador is to get other young people to realise there's a lot of opportunities for young people in Hackney: "There’s a lot of stuff that will be left after the Games, you'll be able to join clubs, and hopefully you'll be able to use the pool and the bike track."

It was the first time Jun had been to the park, and he was inspired by seeing the buildings close up: “It looked great, especially the velodrome, it's going to be one of the most unique buildings in the world. I'd say to young people in the Hackney region, they should come and have a look. This is about their future... in 2012 London is going to be broadcast around the world."

Here are 5 things we learned about the site on our tour:

• The struts for the Olympic stadium are recycled gas pipes that were due to be trashed.
• Also according tour guide, the company had to dredge to Lee River so the barges could transport materials upstream. Knowing that the dredging would kill off all the wildlife, the Olympic Delivery Authority electrically stunned the fish and shipped them out to a new home in Wanstead ponds. They will be bought back to repopulate the river in 2012. If it's true, this is amazing.
• It’s next to Westfield, which has over 300 shops, restaurants, bars and 3 hotels. This announcement got the biggest cheer of the day.
• Anyone can book a tour, just call 0300 2012 001, but under 16s need to be accompanied by an adult. If you're over 16 you need to have photographic ID - either a passport or a driving licence. Security is tight. You can also visit the view tube opposite the stadium, take a look at http://www.theviewtube.co.uk
• You can keep up-to-date on Olympic news through www.facebook.com/hackney2012 Ok, this wasn’t part of the tour, but we thought you’d like to know.