U.K. Public Figures Chime In On Future Of London's Olympic Park

Public figures from all over London have “made a variety of suggestions ranging from the socially and environmentally conscious to the caustic,” on what should be done with the Olympic Park upon its expected re-opening in ’14 following an overhaul, according to Moody & Buchanan of the LONDON TIMES. Mayor Boris Johnson “confirmed that one plan is for the site to host part of a two-day festival of cycling next year.” Moody & Buchanon note the cycling event would be “based on much of the route of the 2012 Games cycle road race.” Design Museum Dir Deyan Sudjic, whose facility is “hosting an exhibition dedicated to sport and the Olympics, called for the venue to be replaced with an extravagant architectural collage of past games.” Art critic Brian Sewell said, “My immediate reaction is that I would demolish the Anish Kapoor tower and leave the rest to rot.” Architect and BBC broadcaster Maxwell Hutchinson said, “The stadium has to be permanently covered over. It needs a fabric roof on it like the Millennium Dome” (LONDON TIMES, 8/15).

STICKY WICKET: A Marylebone Cricket Club member described the Lord’s Cricket Ground, the venue for Olympic archery, as a “bomb site” following the London Games. The LONDON TIMES reports getting the field ready to host a cricket test match tomorrow required “a lot of planning and hard work.” It “took three days, starting on the evening of August 3, for the stands to be dismantled.” The turf contractor had “less than a week to replace the damaged grass.” LOCOG will be responsible for an “entire returfing of the outfield,” costing an estimated US$784,547 (LONDON TIMES, 8/15).

FORE-WARD THINKING: In L.A., Jill Painter writes golf course designer Gil Hanse is “on the clock,” with the return of golf to the Olympics at the ’16 Rio Games. Hanse, who won the bid to design the golf course for the ’16 Olympics, said of watching the London Games, “It was pretty exciting, but it was a little nerve-wracking. I saw promos starting for the Olympics. There was discussion on the Golf Channel and Omega did a commercial, welcoming back golf.” Hanse added, “It was exciting to see, but I'm still so focused on the process. It's hard to look four years into the future, but all the attention got my attention. I'm probably about as nervous as I'll ever be, hoping everything goes well” (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 8/15).