In the circumstances, then, the chequered fate of the ArcelorMittal Orbit - the Anish Kapoor sculpture in east London that like all the best art was named after a global steel conglomerate and fitted with a giant slide against its creator's wishes - stands as a kind of totemic, even cautionary Olympic tale.
Officially, the Orbit has been closed since the start of 2024 for maintenance. In practice, visitor numbers have emerged largely unscathed. Original projections of 350,000 a year were just another of London 2012's grand numerical fictions. The true figure averages at 93,000, which given its steep maintenance costs means London taxpayers are still effectively paying for it.
But lo. Help is at hand. Last week the London Legacy Development Corporation - which runs the Olympic Park site - announced the zip-wire operator Zip World would be taking over the Orbit and reopening it in 2025 after a planned £2.6m investment. "We are thrilled," an LLDC spokesperson announced, in an official statement that promises "a whole new era of excitement and adventure right in the heart of London".
Promises upon promises; visions upon visions; numbers plucked out of thin air. As Paris begins to sketch out its own Olympic afterlife, the transformation of east London by the 2012 Games is often held up as a kind of shining exemplar. Leaf through the financial pages and you will be left with the idea that London's Games legacy has been a dazzling success story, and in many ways it has. But it does depend, in large part, on where you look.
This story is from the September 10, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the September 10, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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