London unveil stadium plans

London 2012 have unveiled the design for their £496million Olympic stadium.

The 80,000-seat venue in Stratford, east London, will be scaled down to a 25,000-capacity venue after the Games and will be used for major athletics events after the Olympics.

In the three years since London launched their bid for the Games the cost of the development has jumped in price from the estimated £280million quoted in 2004, but Olympics minister Tessa Jowell said: "This is a very important Olympic milestone and this stadium is focused very much on legacy and sustainability."

She added: "Once the Games are over this will then be translated into a stadium that will not only host grand prix athletics events and other national sport events but will also serve the communities of the boroughs."

London mayor Ken Livingstone explained major football clubs such as West Ham would not be able to become tenants of the stadium.

He said: "We made a commitment that there would be a permanent athletics facility and we have honoured that commitment. For West Ham we have identified a site much better-suited to their needs."

The Olympic Stadium will stand at the heart of the Olympic Park - it is being billed as a design representing a new era for Olympic stadium design.

Building work on the facility is set to begin up to three months ahead of schedule in April or May, with completion in 2011 to allow for test events, the Olympic Delivery Authority said.

Livingstone said now the designs were unveiled he was confident that prospective anchor tenants - such as lower league football clubs - would be lining up to stake their claim to occupy the stadium after the Games.

So far, 20 out of 33 buildings on the site have been demolished and 600,000 tonnes of soil taken away in preparing the ground for building.