27 Jul 2011
London 2012 Aquatics Centre completed
BY Pete Hayman
London 2012's new Aquatics Centre - designed by Zaha Hadid and S&P Architects - has become the last of the six main permanent Olympic Park venues to be completed.
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has announced that the complex is to be unveiled later today (27 July), with diver Tom Daley making the first dive into the venue's pool.
Work started in June 2008 and has been completed on time, with more than 3,630 workers and 370 UK firms involved in the centre's delivery. Balfour Beatty was the lead contractor.
The other main permanent venues at the Olympic Park - including the Olympic Stadium; the Velodrome; and the Handball Arena - have already been completed.
ODA chair John Armitt said: "In July 2006, we published a delivery timetable which set out the ambitious target to complete the main venues a year before the Games.
"Today, with the completion of the sixth main permanent venue, I am proud to say that we have delivered on that commitment."
The completion of the Aquatics Centre comes as organisers marked the fact that it is now just one year until the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Image: David Poultney/ODA
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