Guest blog by Graham Gilmore, CEO of London Stadium.

You would be forgiven for thinking it has been quiet during lockdown at London Stadium; far from it. We are constantly looking to build on every element of the venue, so while the Stadium has been closed, we have taken the opportunity to carry out upgrades and essential work to improve the visitor experience.

In the past year, we have brought the seats closer to the pitch in the north and south stands, installed a high-density Wi-Fi system - giving visitors fast, free and stable connections – supported by a 5G upgrade to the EE network, which will improve the speed and efficiency of cashless transactions, a real benefit for retail and refreshment points of sale. The floodlights have been modernised to energy saving LEDs, improving visibility on the field of play and making cutting edge special effects possible at concerts and other events. 

On Sunday we welcome 10,000 fans back for West Ham’s final game of the Premier League season, after delivering strictly controlled matches behind closed doors for over 14 months. 

As you can imagine, bringing a stadium of this size to life poses significant challenges. We have carried out important work to ensure the fans have a safe and enjoyable environment to watch the game, installing over 2,000 pieces of additional signage and hundreds of new hand sanitiser units throughout the concourses and hospitality areas. A socially distanced plan for the seating of ticket holders has been devised in conjunction with transport, police and safety teams, in compliance with the latest government COVID-19 guidelines. All this in addition to the comprehensive cross-stakeholder work that has gone into readying the rest of the Stadium and Park to accommodate the fans and opening up food and beverage outlets 

We hope this fixture is a positive sign of things to come as we look forward to the potential for events in the summer and the return of crowds for the 2021/22 Premier League season. 

With the postponement of our summer Hella Mega Tour gig (Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer) to 2022, plus the athletics Anniversary Games being relocated this year, we have switched our focus to the spaces in and around the venue that can accommodate smaller events. This includes making use of the pitch in the off-season, with a full match-day experience available for hire, including home and away dressing rooms, a tunnel walk, LED scoreboards and in-bowl PA system. 

We have opened a new and unique event space inside the main bowl for up to 1,000 attendees, which can host post-match hospitality or bespoke screenings. Guests could be watching this year’s Olympic events within the 2012 Stadium, or playing a game of football on a Premier League pitch before watching a Euro 2020 match. Government Covid regulations can be safely managed within the outdoor space, while shielded from the weather by the Stadium roof, in one of the biggest covered outdoor event spaces in London. 

We look with hope towards the future, while being very aware that things can change incredibly quickly. The investment in our infrastructure will not only make it a more impressive venue, but hopefully provide a strong platform for recovery in the second half of 2021, and beyond. 

We look forward to seeing you all soon. 

Graham.