What the Olympics did to East London (Documentary)

Meet Christine, a lifelong resident of Stratford, an old Victorian railway town and industrial area in East London, which was suddenly transformed when it was announced as the home of the 2012 Olympic Games.
These films are produced by Land Talk, drawn from Land Talk Conversations with observers.
From cities to farmlands, rivers to bayous, and beaches to mountains, the world around us is constantly changing. Land Talk is a citizen science and environmental history project that documents through Conversations how local landscapes change over time. Its goal is to provide an opportunity for dialogue between generations, and a chance to learn from observers about changes they have seen.
Land Talk is hosted by Stanford University. Hundreds more conversations are available to explore at landtalk.stanf...
Directed by Laura Mahler

[@concreteoverwater]

I’ve recently moved to the area and have been finding it very difficult to learn about the history before the olympics as so little legacy has been left by any council. This video is absolutely brilliant, I’ve found it fascinating, thank you!

[@farleymarly2575]

I used to go there as the car breakers used to be there. Also we had a Sunday market it was so fun as a child going there we used to walk over the hackney marsh. Now it's just buildings which are nice but as a child some of best memories were there. Also very rough area but fun.

[@eggchipsnbeans]

Very interesting. I was only briefly a resident (Maryland) but travelled through Stratford for many years before the Olympics. The transformation, as the lady says, is quite wonderful. The area to the north of the station was grim. There still some derelction; there are two office buildings I notice on the train from Liverpool Street that have be empty for 30 years and, while they probably need to improve basic facilities like health centres and schools, there is still lots of room.

[@return4570]

Beautiful & Powerful 💜

[@rosyfox702]

The main thing that sits with me about Stratford now is how it's 2022 and the whole if the site is still under construction since like 2012. The amount of homes they could of made for people who need it, but its just what feels to be the new "canary warf" in a way

[@AB-zl4nh]

There are plans to build 2,000 homes & 50% will be low cost council owned homes.

[@evan]

This was really lovely. Thanks for making it

[@salfordian0076]

The New Stratford is amazing!!!!

[@ajmainiqtidar5820]

come to leamington spa

[@DRIVEFROMHOME4K]

❤❤❤

[@Geffo555]

Interesting, but it's a pity we don't have many pictures or films of the area as it was. I worked in a factory in Carpenter's Road in about 75, and know just how filthy and unhealthy it was. It did have character though. I had a walk round there a few years ago and it was weird. It seems like a circle of land has been lifted out and replaced. The 21st century look is certainly cleaner and neater, but it's also a bit soulless.

[@trina415]

Its gross i live across from the olympic park over priced rubbish

[@slothsarecool]

Still looks a bit bleak and uninspired, a bit like North American cities

[@Waywind420]

Imagine living in the area for 50 years and thinking places like Tower hamlets are the same. Bangladeshi people are the majority ethnic group there now, there's twice as many Muslims as there are Christians. London in 1960 was 98% White British London in 2020 is 36% White British This is an ethnic cleansing and most people can't even recognize it.

[@konyctg]

But NOW the changes are being reversed, especially in the areas where the Elizabeth Line runs in Newham e.g Forest Gate, where Bangladeshi residents are being forced out to the outer suburbs due to increasing house prices and in their place the white people have moved in

[@QT-Sei]

So sad that such an area rich in history is nearly unrecognizable thanks to foreign occupiers.

[@lolitarouge]

There is No mention of the *EURO TUNNEL LINK*

[@never4ever386]

Why? Those trains don’t stop at stratford.

[@dannyward673]

I was raised in Stratford all my family have lived here since before the wars. Carpenters Rd was the where everyone worked. My mum n dad met working down there and had a first date at the Green man pub on the corner of carpenters & High St. Some of the stories iv been told over the years.😂 even Arnold Schwarzenegger before he was famous trained in Stratford at the old famous Bill Steven’s gym, now long gone. James brown used to rehearse when in London just off Abbey Lane at the channel sea house. There’s lots of lost history about my old manor Stratford. It was a shame for me when we did win the games because as a trades man I couldn’t even get a start over there yet they sold us a lie that they would employ local people from the area. Load of old BS.

[@JACKPOTTT777]

I thought Arnie lived and trained in Ilford 😳

[@richardkell4888]

Fascinating, thanks for posting.

[@diamond66ist]

I lived just on the other side of the Thames in SE London ,we had a lead smelting factory at the end of the road , thick black smoke would bellow out at night ., but hey ho cor blimey they was the good ole days !

[@MuhammadSaleem-xc6qm]

So biutfol very nice 👌

[@alex-E7WHU]

As a forest gate kid we used to go fishing down waterden rd sometimes, the smell from the soap/glue factory was really strong occasionally, bit like a nightmare version of cheese on toast for some reason, and there was a factory that sometimes smelled like floral gums. Happy days.👍⚒️

[@ThisGuyAd.]

Wait! it didn't fix every problem my family has had to deal with for generations? No?

[@arnoldokyere4202]

what a beautiful project!

[@impamiizgraa]

It’s sad that so much of it’s history has been wiped out but the reality is, pre-2012 Stratford was a sh**hole. I remember it well. It’s lost old charm but gained a shiny buzz. Depends what you value. One thing is for sure, overcrowding is one of the worst impacts.

[@ravinpeiris10]

insightful

[@SomeRandomBod]

I wudnt hold out much hope of things slowing down. The right amount in the right account & any part of Stratford will become “perfect” for luxury apartments.

[@wanderer1955]

The fact that the Eton Manor sportsground was demolished for this crap is an absolute disgrace. The decision to award the Olympic games to London was an absolute tradegy.