A thriving new community built on Olympic legacy
A thriving new community built on Olympic legacy
Welcome to Stratford
Since its transformation for the London 2012 Olympics, Stratford has made its name as East London’s new centre for retail, dining, culture, and of course sports. Surrounded by landscaped parks and waterways, you will find world class sporting and leisure facilities each with its own striking contemporary architecture, from the wave shaped roof of the Aquatics Centre to the winding coils ArcelorMittal Orbit.
Shoppers flock to the extensive stores at Westfield Stratford City, the largest urban shopping and leisure destination in Europe, while independent restaurants, breweries and theatres provide the backdrop for dining and entertainment.
The Changing Face of East London
Eating & Drinking
Stratford is home to an array of international dining options from Mexican or modern European to Thai and seasonal British menus. Take a stroll to canal-side bar and restaurant Number 90 to enjoy great locally sourced dishes and infused cocktails. Their events programme also celebrates local and international music, art, comedy, film and theatre.
If fish is your thing then look no further than Forman’s Fish Island, renowned for its London Cure smoked salmon crafted in their smokehouse. Located just 100 metres away from the London Stadium the view is the perfect backdrop to your meal.
Entertainment & Culture
There’s plenty to keep you entertained in Stratford, whether you enjoy theatre, film or history, or are looking for a playground for kids (or adults!).
Dating back to 1884, Theatre Royal Stratford East is steeped in stage history. Today it showcases new writing and ethnically diverse plays. The theatre works closely with the Refugees and the Arts Initiative, which supports professional artists who are seeking or have been granted refuge in the UK. Even when there’s not a performance on visitors are welcome to stop by the bar and enjoy the Caribbean dishes on offer.
To explore storytelling with little ones, Discover is the UK’s first story centre for children aged 0-11 and their families. Their aim is to create a love of language, literature and stories through creative play spaces designed to inspire children’s curiosity and imagination. Dedicated Story Builders guide children and families through the space and encourage them to create their own stories.
Tumbling Bay playground has a vast array of activities for kids including rock pools, sandpits, treehouses, wobbly bridges, slides and swings. Next door the Timber Lodge community centre and cafe, offers parents and kids a chance to relax and revive with a range of fresh home-cooked food and drinks.
For the ultimate adult playground head to Roof East where players can curl, bowl or shuffle board in six action-packed gaming lanes, batting cages and crazy golf. If that’s too high octane then why not relax into some rooftop yoga, or kick back at a film screening while making the most of the bars and street food stalls.
Sports & Activities
For sporting, athletic and aquatic facilities and fun activities, Stratford is unrivalled. Developed for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, the world class facilities in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park include the London Aquatics centre housing not one but two Olympic sized pools, a range of diving boards, platforms and pools alongside a state of the art gym, a café and creche.
The London Marathon Community Track is the home to a number of athletics clubs and football clubs, offering floodlit track and field facilities and a full sized 11-a-side grass football pitch. The striking Copper Box Arena is a flexible indoor venue whether you want to keep fit at the gym, join a group exercise classes or take part in activities in the state-of-the-art sports hall.
Whether you want to learn to cycle or fancy putting your cycling speed to the test, head to the Lee Valley VeloPark, everyone from beginners to elite riders are able to ride the track at this iconic venue.
For something a little more laid-back head to The ArcelorMittal Orbit, not only is it a sculpture created by world famous artist Anish Kapoor for the 2012 games, it has been transformed to contain the world’s tallest and longest tunnel slide.
Stratford East
Stratford East was built in 1884 - it’s a beautiful, Victorian theatre with an expansive history, but it made its name under ‘the mother of modern theatre’ Joan Littlewood in the 1950s and 60s.
Since Nadia Fall took post as Artistic Director in 2017, she has been transforming Stratford East’s repertoire with reimagined classic texts, pertinent revivals and bold, politically charged new work. Their programming is hugely diverse but always keeps high quality storytelling at its heart.
