Street objects and the iconic venues in and around the Park are waiting to hear from you. Why not tell them your stories, give them your opinions and share your observations. All you need to chat with them is a basic mobile phone.

Hello Lamp Post encourages you to look at the area in which you live, work or play with fresh eyes and engage with objects you might sometimes take for granted. This is a chance to slow down, reflect, interact, communicate, play and find out more about what’s been happening in the Park and surrounding areas.

Funded by a European smart cities initiative and  as part of the Smart London* programme, we hope to show exchanges between visitors and locals across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as well the Park’s neighbouring boroughs and beyond.

Ben Barker, co-founder of Pan Studio says, “As Londoners, we’re so excited to be bringing Hello Lamp Post to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The project is a great way to get people to share their memories and experiences, and the Park is a perfect fit. It’s a joy exploring all the hidden secrets of the Park, and Hello Lamp Post will add to this. We can’t wait to see how people play over the next six weeks.”

Peter Tudor, Director of Venues, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, says: “Hello Lamp Post is such an exciting initiative and yet another great way to enjoy the Park this half term. We want people to enjoy exploring all that the Park and its brilliant venues has to offer.”

Hello Lamp Post has previously achieved a high level of engagement in a number of global cities, sometimes with surprising results. In Singapore players tended to build empathetic relationships with street furniture often worrying they were lonely, while in Austin, Texas the system was inundated with memories and history from local visitors

How to Play

If you look closely, most street objects will have a reference code marked on them somewhere. These codes get used by the manufacturers, maintenance companies or local councils to distinguish one object from another. Hello Lamp Post piggybacks on these existing codes to allow localised conversations in thousands of public spaces.

You can have a chat with any coded object ­ post boxes, bollards, bus stops, phone boxes, trains, boats, manhole covers, utility boxes, bridges, telegraph poles, art exhibits and of course lamp posts themselves!

What’s more, for the first time ever, you’ll also be able to speak to the iconic buildings and features of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park ­ including the London Stadium, Lee Valley VeloPark, the London Aquatics Centre and the Olympic Rings.

Starting a conversation with an object is easy ­ just text “hello”, the object description and its code to the official Hello Lamp Post phone number for London:

0203 389 8860

For example, if a post box has the code “BS1024” written on it, you can start talking to it by texting:

"Hello Post Box #BS1024"

Conversations can be started from any mobile phone that sends text (sms) messages. It’s free to play (standard SMS and data rates apply) and it’s suitable for all ages (all content is moderated before going public).

Why Talk to a Lamp Post?

Hello Lamp Post conversations take the form of a short, fun interview. The objects are curious about the world they find themselves in and want to ask you questions about it. These questions may be about the local area; the players’ memories and favourite things; their aspirations and what they care about.

Every time the player shares new information with an object, the object will share an answer that another person has given it. In this way, talking to a thing can reveal something about the personality, values and themes of a particular area and the people who pass through there.

Throughout the 6 weeks, the samples of these answers will be available to view on the project website. 

As Hello Lamp Post is geared towards sharing thoughts and opinions within a fun conversation, the objects themselves won’t give operational type information such as opening times and ticket prices - for that type of information please visit: www.queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk

How Does It Work?

Object types have different personalities and this comes through in the questions they ask ­ bus stops are interested in travel plans; post boxes care about letter writing with friends and buildings are often concerned with their history and current events, as well as their future plans. Objects also get friendlier the more often they’re spoken to ­ this affection comes through in the way they want to converse.

For more information contact the Press Office at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on +44 (0) 20 3734 9010 or email press@QueenElizabethOlympicPark.co.uk

Notes to Editors

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a place unlike any other. Spread across 560 acres of beautiful parklands with historic waterways, famous sporting venues and a vibrant arts and events programme. At the Park’s centre sits the former Olympic Stadium, a world-class, multi-use venue that will play host to Premier League football, concerts and international athletics and, coming soon, The Slide at the ArcelorMittal Orbit. As the new heart of east London, the Park will provide future homes, jobs and an unrivalled education and cultural district housing Sadler’s Wells, V&A East, UAL’s London College of Fashion and UCL East.

The London Legacy Development Corporation promotes and delivers physical, social, economic and environmental regeneration in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the surrounding area by maximising the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.