Olympic gloom in Tower Hamlets

When London won the right to host the 2012 Olympics, Tower Hamlets was promised a prominent role in the running of the Games. Now six years later, the borough is facing up to the grim prospect of no events at all taking place in the area.

In late November, world athletics chiefs approved the controversial 2012 Olympic marathon route. Originally planned to run through the streets of East London to finish in the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, the 26.2 mile race will now instead be routed around the landmarks of central London and finish at The Mall.

Although they are one of the five ‘Olympic boroughs’ in the East London area, the marathon decision represents the final nail in the coffin for Tower Hamlets as they are now left without a single sporting event during the Games.

The basketball tournament and the walking race were also originally planned to take place in Tower Hamlets when London won the Olympic bid in 2005. An official statement from the borough council about the issue is damning:

“Bit by bit the Olympic organisers have chipped away at the borough’s involvement. They will have broken their promise to thousands of Tower Hamlets residents.”

Upon announcing the decision, the chairman of the London organising committee, Lord Sebastian Coe, said: “This is one of the hardest decisions we have had to take. We have agreed with the Leader of Tower Hamlets Council to develop a proposal creating other opportunities for the borough to be part of the Games.”

Quite what these opportunities would actually be remains unclear. With the prospect of any sporting events in the borough now completely gone, it would appear to be little more than a token gesture while the sporting action takes place elsewhere in the city.

The contrast with the neighbouring borough of Newham is obvious. While the Stratford area is awash with building development and regeneration, it appears to be business as usual in Tower Hamlets.

Russell Stone, of W.J. Meade estate agents in Bow, describes the property market in Tower Hamlets as being a world apart from the boom of new homes being built closer to the Olympic village.

He said: “They are building a huge amount of new flats in the Stratford, but this area has never been affected because we’re that far away from Hackney and Stratford.”

Although there may be little sign of regeneration, he is keen to challenge the perception that the Olympic organisers decided to re-route the marathon because Tower Hamlets was not picturesque or “television-friendly” enough.

Mr Stone said: “Tower Hamlets has a great selection of Georgian squares, Victorian and Edwardian houses. Lord Coe should come down here and I will show him Tredegar Square which is as elegant as Hyde Park Square. I’d like to see him show me a nicer square in London.”

Tredegar Square: not picturesque enough for Lord Coe? (Credit: Ruth Sharville)

Nonetheless, the absence of any signs of change seems to be reflected in the lack of enthusiasm from the locals about the Games. My attempts to talk to shopkeepers and local residents about the upcoming Olympics were generally met with complete indifference. The Olympic site may be just over the horizon, but the people of Tower Hamlets seem to be ignoring its presence.

Nobody seemed to have anything positive to say about 2012 and those who did express an opinion were understandably negative in their outlook. Mrs. Moore, manager of Colvin’s Florist in Mile End, expressed her disappointment at the situation.

She said: “It’s a massive shame and we feel cheated. I feel it’s going to have a bad effect on local businesses as well. Unfortunately it looks like they’ve made their mind up about the marathon and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Save for the occasional grumbling voice, there are no signs whatsoever that there is an Olympic village being constructed less than two miles away. When the eyes of the world are on Stratford in the summer of 2012, Tower Hamlets will be the Olympics’ forgotten borough.