• Images of the new look Aquatics Centre: Download Aquatics Centre Images
• New time-lapse footage of the Aquatics Centre external panes of glass installed  Download Time-lapse Aquatics Footage
• Update on Aquatics Centre and its transformation into an high performance and community venue

New timelapse footage released today show construction workers installing the final glass and external doors and pictures reveal the venue’s magnificent design and showcasing it in its full glory.

Construction works of the completed outside of the Aquatics Centre include removing the temporary seating stands, which held 17,500 seats for Games-time and installing 2,800m² of glass and eight doors along the sides of the centre allowing lots of natural light into the pool. The internal works and final landscaping will be completed next year ahead of the opening to the public in the spring.

This world class Olympic venue will be operated by Charitable Social Enterprise, GLL. The venue will be open to the whole community and will host a variety of activities including fitness and family swim sessions, swimming and diving lessons, inclusive community sessions as well as a 40 station gym.  In addition, the Aquatics Centre will host a range of national and international events including the FINA/NVC 2014 World Diving Series and 2016 European Swimming Championships.  

Since last autumn, huge progress has been made removing temporary venues, improving transport connections across and into the Park, and creating beautiful parkland areas. In July 2013, the Copper Box Arena and parts of the North Park – including the new Timber Lodge Community Centre, Unity Kitchen Café and Tumbling Bay playground opened to the public. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will fully open in spring next year.

Dennis Hone, Chief Executive of London Legacy Development Corporation, said:

“The newly unveiled Aquatics Centre is a truly stunning venue that will continue to have a place in the public’s heart when it opens in spring next year. It is fantastic news that the centre will become a Diving High Performance Centre and host world-class sporting events such as the FINA/NVC 2014 World Diving Series and 2016 European Swimming Championships. Alongside this, the centre will be open to all for the same price as the average cost at local pools. These elite sports will sit alongside community sports to provide a lasting legacy on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.”

Peter Bundey, GLL Director, said:

“As proud operators of the London Aquatic Centre and Copper Box Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, it is very exciting to see the venue transformed into legacy mode.

We look forward to welcoming local communities to swim in this iconic venue which will be an important element of delivering a lasting legacy from the games.”

• The London Aquatics Centre  will be operated by GLL, a charitable social enterprise on behalf of London Legacy Development Corporation
• The world class swimming pool(s) opens to the whole community in spring 2014
• The venue will offer inclusive disability access and sessions as well as single sex, parent and child, family, fun and fitness sessions
• The London Aquatics Centre will offer affordable swimming/diving lessons and sessions to all ages and  abilities
• The venue will offer a unique visitor experience to Londoners and the tourist market
• The London Aquatics Centre will host a variety of fitness sessions including use of the gym and dry diving.
• The London Aquatic Centre will be a unique training venue for stars of the future with access to local and London swimming clubs
• ODA cost of build £251million
  Used in Games-time for Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Modern Pentathlon, Paralympic Swimming
• The three pools contain 10 million litres of water and are lined with 180,000 tiles.
• There are almost 600,000 tiles in the whole building. Paralympic swimmer Liz Johnson laid the last tile in April 2011
• Construction on the venue began in July 2008 and was completed for the Games in July 2011.
• The Aquatics Centre’s spectacular wave-like roof is 160m long and up to 80m wide – giving it a longer single span than Heathrow Terminal 5. It rests on just three concrete supports
• The building is 45m high
• The aluminum roof has a 50 per cent recycled content
• The Aquatics Centre uses 32 per cent less potable (drinking) water compared to other pools. This is achieved by using low flow fittings and recycling water

• There are 628 panes of glass in total – 314 panes each side
• The panes of glass are 1500mm x 3000mm with a few larger / smaller
• In total, the glass covers 2,800m²
• The standard weight is 250kg. The heaviest piece is 377kg. The total weight of the glass is 148,470kg or 74.235kg each side.
• It took 70 days to put the glass in – 35 days per side
• It took a team of six to install each pane
• 10 panes of glass were installed each working day
• The glass was manufactured in Leon, North West Spain and was installed by Austrian company Seele
• The glass has a screen printed dot matrix pattern which varies in size and pattern over the elevation to help control daylight levels and restrict potential glare.
• The glass will be cleaned by window cleaners, using cherry pickers to reach the high bits
• The steel framework will have hot water running through it which means it acts like a giant radiator to prevent condensation forming on the glass.