How Here East lives up to the 2012 legacy

A decade from the London Olympics, it is exciting to reflect on the legacy we have built in East London. Here East is one of the jewels in the crown of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It has been a crucial part of the legacy and has lived up to our expectations for its impact when it bid for the Broadcast Centre site after the Games.

At the time, we felt that Here East’s bid represented the best legacy in terms of the jobs it could create and the role it could play in fostering a thriving tech and creative sector, and adding value to the local and national economy. The prospect of working with tenants at Here East to create opportunities for the East London community to compete for these value-added jobs is bearing fruit, and the ambition to create a world-class tech hub has been realised, alongside so much more.

Today, Here East is almost fully let, and has created thousands more jobs and fostered thousands of students through its universities. It is a wonderful and eclectic mix of tech innovators, entrepreneurs and household names, all of whom are creating something very special.

And while the jobs are sought after, what really drives additional benefits to the Olympic legacy is the collaboration between Here East’s members. As a result, we have seen the emergence of an esports ecosystem in East London, the creation of SHIFT – the Park’s inclusive innovation district, which offers huge potential for collaborations between Here East and other academic and business partners across the Park – and the Global Disability Innovation (GDI) Hub, which came from our Paralympics legacy programme and is a growing force for learning and advocacy around assistive technology.

The LLDC is the guardian of the 2012 legacy, so we pay close attention to developments across the Olympic Park. But I believe we are an enabler, and we are in constant dialogue with Here East to understand the possibilities and the potential of how its objectives can align with our legacy promises. That close working relationship means we can be clear with each other on priorities and identify further opportunities for collaboration.

Astonishingly, 10 years have passed since the London Olympics, and we are proud of the changes we have seen across East London. It is continuously evolving, with Here East at the heart, and there is so much more to come, with East Bank set to deliver further incredible impact with V&A, Sadler’s Wells, UCL, the BBC and the London College of Fashion setting up there.

As a result, more and better opportunities will firmly establish themselves in a new part of the city: a place of innovation and making, with smaller, cleaner and smarter technologies compared to its industrial past. We are excited to see how the whole Park, Here East and the Olympic legacy continue to flourish in this ecosystem.