London 2012 Olympics monuments find new life four years on

The spotlight might be on Rio but London is still revelling in its post-Olympics glow.

Four years after the world came to Stratford on the eastern fringes of the city, the renamed Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has been transformed into a haven for city dwellers.

About 4 million people have visited the site since it reopened as a park in 2014.

The athletes village, which housed 17,000 Olympians in 2012, has been turned into apartments.

Half of them are being marketed with affordable rents to ensure the area attracts not just the affluent.

Rents range from $400-a-week for a two bedroom flat to $1,500 for a four-bedroom townhouse.

The stadium is now the base for the West Ham Premier League Club.

A massive reconfiguration was needed, but the London Legacy Development Corporation is banking an influx of football fans to add to the profits of the Olympic park.

The building that was used for the media during the Games is now a tech start-up hub.

The London Aquatics Centre is open to the public at a cost of about $10 for an adult.
Olympics legacy injects life into London's East End

When London bid for the Olympics in 2005 the legacy of the games was as much a part of the deal as the few weeks of competition.

"It's quite frankly all about what happens afterwards," London Legacy Development Corporation head of communications, Ben Fletcher, said.

"The reason why this park is so successful is that we were planning on the legacy from the day we won the bid."

The site was a deliberate choice.

London's East End was poor and unemployment was high — even the soil was toxic.

Mr Fletcher said the areas would probably have been developed over the next half-century, but putting the Olympics there meant the process was sped up.

During the summer school holidays, and in particular for these Rio Olympics, fine white sand has been shipped in to create a man-made beach.

And deck chairs with Union Jack print have been laid out in front of a large screen so visitors can watch the Olympics.

Some things have proven controversial.

The tangle of steel that is the tallest sculpture in the UK has been turned into a slide. One quick trip down will set you back $30.

But has not the cost that has raised eyebrows.

There were some who could never learn to appreciate the art work of Sir Anish Kapoor and structural engineer Cecil Balmond.

The other legacy that was promised to the taxpayers of the UK was that the games would "inspire a generation", funding sports fields and encouraging young people to become more active.

There was certainly a spike in activity after 2012 but some reports have suggested that part of the Olympic dream has dropped away.