London Olympics Media Centre - Venue Guide

Rarely out of the headlines, the international press and broadcast centre has been hard hit by the credit crunch and could be bailed out by taxpayers.

Key facts

• Architect: Allies and Morrison
• Contractors: Consortium led by Carillion and Igloo
• Construction cost: £400m
• Start date: Spring 2009
• Scheduled completion date: July 2011

The broadcast and press centre will be located next to the hockey centre in the north west of the Olympic Park in Stratford, London.

During the Games it will provide 24-hour high tech facilities to 20,000 international and domestic journalists and photographers.

Below: site of the media centre in November 2008

Design details

Allies and Morrison beat rivals Hopkins Architects to be announced as the designers of the media centre in March 2008.

The firm’s initial designs proposed the construction of three buildings totalling 12,000m². The two-storey broadcasting centre would be 75,000m² and the four-storey press centre would be 45,000m². The centre would also include shops, cafes and a multi-storey car park powered by wind turbines.

But difficulty securing private finance to construct the buildings has since thrown doubt on those plans.

Talks between the government, Olympic bosses and the main contractors suggest the designs could be scaled back in favour of temporary facilities.

Journalists could also be moved to the Stratford City shopping centre being developed by Westfield close by.

Uncertainty over the funding of the project has also led to uncertainty over its legacy uses, with some fearing original plans to turn it into a hub for creative industries might be derailed.

Construction challenges

Construction of the press and broadcast centre has been dogged by problems from the beginning.

As early as 2007, bidders had complained that the lack of a clear legacy plan made it hard to develop a competitive bid.

Despite that, Carillion and Igloo walked away with the job in July 2008.

The firms were expected to contribute up to half the cost of the venue, in exchange for a share of its rental income post-Games.

But the impact of the credit crunch has meant they have struggled to secure bank finance, forcing the government to admit that it may have to bail the project out.

Building work is to begin spring 2009, by which time the government hopes to have a finance deal in place. Olympics minister Tessa Jowell said talks with private investors are continuing.

But Carillion could eventually be left to go it alone, with Igloo rumoured to be dropping out of the deal for financial reasons.

External links 

• London 2012 contractor announcement
• Official London 2012 press centre venue page
• Allies and Morrison
• Carillion

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