East Village is one of London's newest neighbourhoods: modern homes, green spaces and independent shops, built on the back of a global sporting event.
This is the story of how East Village came to be.
Before the Games: The Lower Lea Valley
For over a century, the land where East Village now stands was a very different place. Part of Stratford and the Lower Lea Valley, it was the industrial heartland of East London. A landscape of railway depots, warehouses, and factories, it was a place of work and industry, crisscrossed by canals and rivers that once powered its mills.
By the late 20th century, many of these industries had declined, and the area became a stretch of overlooked, post-industrial land. It was a place with huge potential, waiting for a catalyst to bring it back to life. That catalyst turned out to be the Olympics.
The 2012 Dream: A Vision for Legacy
On 6th July 2005, the world heard the words: "The Games of the 30th Olympiad are awarded to the city of... London!" That was where East Village's story began.
The London 2012 bid was won on the promise of legacy as much as sport. The plan was to use the Games to drive the largest urban regeneration project in Europe for 150 years. The former industrial site was chosen to become the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and at its heart would be the Olympic and Paralympic Village.
The idea was to build a temporary home for the athletes that could later become a permanent London neighbourhood.
A Village for Champions: The London 2012 Games
The construction that followed was huge. The land was cleared and cleaned, and a new village went up. During the summer of 2012, this was the home-from-home for over 17,000 athletes and officials from more than 200 countries.
For a few weeks, the streets we now walk every day were full of athletes, and medals were won in the venues around us: the Olympic Stadium, the Aquatics Centre and the Velodrome.
The Birth of a Neighbourhood: Welcome to E20
Once the closing ceremony fireworks had faded, the next phase of the transformation began. The Athletes' Village was ready for its true, long-term purpose.
The temporary Olympic fittings were removed, and fully fitted kitchens were installed in every apartment. The vast dining halls and gyms were converted into community spaces. In late 2013, the first new residents began to move in, and a new London postcode was officially born: E20. The Athletes' Village was reborn as East Village.
East Village Today: A Continuing Story
East Village was designed around community, sustainability and quality of life.
It has parks and wetlands on the doorstep, good transport links, and local services like Chobham Academy and the Sir Ludwig Guttmann Health Centre.
Today, thousands of people live here: families, professionals, students and everyone in between. The 2012 venues are still in use, and the neighbourhood around them keeps growing.
It went from industrial land to an Olympic village to a place people call home. If you live here, you're part of what happens next.