The Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, commonly known as the Olympic Stadium, is a stadium located in Stratford, London, England. It is located at Marshgate Lane in London's Stratford district in the Lower Lea Valley. It was constructed primarily to serve as the host stadium for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, where it hosted the track and field events, along with its opening and closing ceremonies. The stadium is located 6.5 miles (10.5 km) from Central London, but six minutes away from the London St. Pancras rail station via Stratford International Highspeed rail services.
The stadium is being used intermittently whilst under renovation. As part of the renovation, the lower seating bowl will be replaced with a retractable seating system allowing for acceptable seating for both athletics and pitch sports. Once fully re-opened in 2016, it will have a standard capacity of 54,000 and will be the long-term home of West Ham United Football Club and British Athletics. The decision to make West Ham United the main tenants was a controversial one. As well as its regular tenants, the stadium will continue to be used for a series of special events. Notably the stadium hosted several 2015 Rugby World Cup matches, and will host both the 2017 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and the 2017 IPC Athletics World Championships, the first time both events have been held in the same location consecutively.
Land preparation for the stadium began in mid-2007, with the official construction start date on 22 May 2008, although piling works for the foundation began four weeks ahead of that date. The stadium held its first public event in March 2012, serving as the finish line for a celebrity running event organised by the National Lottery. The stadium had a capacity of 80,000, making it the third-largest stadium in England behind Wembley and Twickenham.
The Olympic Stadium hosted its first public event on 31 March 2012, serving as the finish line for the National Lottery Olympic Park Run. Five thousand participants (including celebrities, British athletes, and members of the public who won a drawing organised by the National Lottery) partook in a five-mile run around Olympic Park, entering Olympic Stadium to the theme from Chariots of Fire to run the final 300m on its track. The stadium hosted two warm up events for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as part of the London Prepares Series. The venue hosted the British Universities Athletics Championships and the London Disability Grand Prix in May 2012. On 6 May around 40,000 people attended for an event entitled 2,012 hours to go an evening of athletics and entertainment. The evening was hosted by Gabby Logan and Vernon Kay during which Jon Culshaw, Mel C, Hugh Bonneville, Chipmonk and Jack Whitehall appeared. Niamh Clarke-Willis a nine-year-old was chosen to officially open the stadium.