Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The real east London: an Olympic view from Hackney

 

Kevin Rawlinson
Saturday 28 July 2012 00:45 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Long before they even began, the London 2012 Games became - in the minds of many - deeply immersed in and reliant on corporate sponsorship. And there were many in Hackney's Haggerston Park, in east London, where thousands of locals not able to get their hands on tickets came to watch last night's Ceremony, who felt that the non-ticketed, non-sponsored party was more akin to the ideals of the original Olympics than the shindig going on just up the road in Stratford.

Hackney Council organised a celebratory party - Big Screen at Haggerston Park - and, like at the Olympics proper, the much-maligned security firm G4S was on the door and there were long, slow-moving queue. But, once the ceremony started, people simply started jumping over the fences.

"Come on, let's get friendly, it's the Olympics," shouted one man.

Stewart Thurlow, 28, from London, said: "I wasn't too bothered until tonight and then today the build-up made it all hit that it was happening.

"This more like what they proposed originally. It is about Londoners coming together. The whole run-up has been quite corporate; as the torch went past, you had Coca-Cola handing out bottles.

"This is quite nice because it is not sponsored by McDonalds or Coca-Cola, we have not had to pay £2,012."

Robert Antonello, 42, from Melbourne in Australia, said the party atmosphere was helped by the fact that people could bring in their own food and drink.

Sarah Donegan, 28, from Hoxton, said she thought the spectacle was "amazing". She said: "It's like a fantasy film." The big screen in the park cut off for two or three minutes at one point, which she said was "bound to happen, it's Britain".

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in