Live debate: The legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
Join our live chat, today at 12:30 BST, to examine the impact of the London 2012 Games on east London and whether a lasting legacy can be achieved. Follow the live video discussion below. If you would like to ask the speakers a question in advance, contribute to the debate or simply follow along, you can tweet using the hashtag #UELOlympics and follow @UEL2012
Now that the London 2012 euphoria has calmed, questions surrounding Games legacy have come to the fore. What transformations of the city are still to take place? What will be the social legacy of the Games? Should we be optimistic about the well-publicised housing legacy? What is still needed to achieve legacy and how can legacy be measured?
Participants
Dr Penny Bernstock: Impact of the Games on housing
Penny Bernstock currently leads the field of sociology and innovation studies. Dr Bernstock is a principle researcher for the Thames Gateway Housing and her other research interests include potential Housing Legacies of London 2012. She has also published extensively on housing and regeneration in East London, publications include ‘The Regeneration Game’ and more recently ‘Imagining the Housing Futures of London 2012’
Richard Sumray MBE: Chairman of London 2012 Forum
Richard was a key figure in London's successful Olympic bid. He started thinking about and working on the bid nearly 25 years ago. Previously Vice Chair of the London Council of Sport and Recreation for a number of years, Richard set up and was Chief Executive of London International Sport whose objective was to bring major sports events to London. Richard has an absolute passion for sport and physical activity and was sure that the 2012 Games should be held in London. After a great deal of work, Richard eventually persuaded key figures in east London boroughs of the regeneration benefits the games could bring and convinced them to provide him with some support to present a comprehensive brief to government which persuaded them to support a London bid.
Professor Allan Brimicombe: Socio-economic impact of the Games
Professor Brimicombe worked closely with the Thames Gateway Institute for Sustainability and with UEL’s London East Research Institute, the Institute for Health and Human Development and the Sustainability Research Institute to produce the Olympic Games Impact Study – London 2012 Pre-Games Report - Creating and Maintaining a Healthy Stratford City: Principles and Practices for Success, which concluded positive signs of sustainability which will benefit the city.
