Let the games begin!

Olympic Village, Seen from Science World, Vancouver 2010

Pedestrian Bridge, Olympic Village Looking East, Vancouver 2010

Today marks the official opening of the Games of the XXX Olympiad in London. Over 200 nations are expected to participate, with over 10,000 competing athletes. By contrast, 82 countries participated in the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010 in Vancouver, with approximately 2,600 athletes taking part.

These two photographs were taken at the time of the Winter Games. The 2010 Athletes’ Village in the heart of Vancouver and the 2012 Olympic Village in East London have much in common. These are no ordinary communities. Normally, we create purpose-built structures, but Olympic city planning is not the norm. Initially these villages would operate as the world’s most exclusive communities for elite athletes from around the globe.

During the 2010 games, the Olympic Village in Vancouver accommodated over 2,800 athletes and officials. The area, now called the Village on False Creek, consists of over 1,000 residential units. Some of the condos are still for sale today.

The London Olympic Village contains 11 residential areas, each made up of five to seven blocks. There are apartments for approximately 17,000 athletes and officials during the 2012 games. After, the village will be transformed into 2,818 housing units in this new residential neighbourhood known as East Village.

To see my photographs of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Village, please visit my website: lesliehossack.com. My images of the London Olympic site will be posted here on Haute Vitrine in the future, along with photographs of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Stadium which I documented in June 2012.

Olympic Villages – Past and Present

Model Building, Millennium Water Presentation Centre, Vancouver 2009

Presentation Suite, Millennium Water Presentation Centre, Vancouver 2009

The two photographs above were taken a year before the opening of the Vancouver Games. The 2010 Athletes’ Village in the heart of Vancouver and the 2012 Olympic Village in East London have much in common. Both projects involved the rejuvenation of largely forgotten urban areas. These are no ordinary communities. Normally, we create purpose-built structures, but Olympic city planning is not the norm. Vancouver and London saw the construction of a group of buildings to serve as transient Athletes’ Villages and, subsequently, ongoing urban communities. Initially these villages would operate as the world’s most exclusive communities for elite athletes from around the globe.

During the 2010 winter games, the Olympic Village in Vancouver accommodated over 2,800 athletes and officials. The area, now called the Village on False Creek, consists of over 1,000 residential units. Some of the condos are still for sale today. These photographs show the sales centre as it looked in 2009.

The London Olympic Village contains 11 residential areas, each made up of five to seven blocks. There are apartments for approximately 17,000 athletes and officials during the 2012 summer games. After, the village will be transformed into 2,818 housing units. This new residential neighbourhood is to be known as East Village.

Berlin, Moscow, Vancouver, London

Construction Debris, Olympic Village Site Looking East, Vancouver 2009

Empty Lot, Olympic Village Site Looking East, Vancouver 2009

The two photographs shown above were taken a full year before the opening of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, and the clutter of construction is clearly evident. With the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic Games in London only 10 days away, final preparations will have reached a fevered pitch.

The site of the 2010 Athletes’ Village in the heart of Vancouver and the main venue of the 2012 Olympics in East London have much in common. Both projects involve the rejuvenation of largely forgotten urban areas.

My own love affair with the Olympics started in 2008. I walked past the Vancouver Olympic Village construction site, and I was a goner. Two years later, a visit to the 1936 Berlin Olympic Stadium and Athletes’ Village sealed the deal.

From that very first glance in 2008, I felt compelled to return again and again to photograph the site of Vancouver’s Village. It was a rare opportunity to witness the construction of a village, and the creation of a community, from the ground up. I quickly realized that I had to visit the London Olympic site to follow its development from 2010 to 2012. I plan to return again in 2014 to explore the impact on East London – a massive example of accelerated urban evolution.

To see my photographs of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Stadium and Village, please visit my website: lesliehossack.com. My images of the London Olympic site will be posted here on Haute Vitrine in the future, along with photographs of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Stadium which I documented in June 2012.