Last night, I gave a talk for the London Parks and Gardens Trust at the delightful Garden Museum in Lambeth. The well-attended talk was on London’s Parks and London’s Olympic Games. I used the Olympic park at Stratford as my starting point, and then went back to look at the ways in which London’s past Olympic and Olympian games had used London’s parks and open spaces. From Baron de Berenger’s Olympic Festival at Cremorne Gardens in 1832 and the National Olympian Association’s first National Olympian Games at Crystal Palace in 1866, I moved on to White City and Wormwood Scrubs in 1908, and Richmond Park in 1948, before ending with the mixed legacy that 2012 is creating: on the one hand, it is creating new parks and gardens; but on the other, it is having an impact on Hackney Marshes and Greenwich Park. The talk was followed with some lively discussion. I’d like to thank Katy Myers of the London Parks and Gardens Trust for organising the evening.
Tag Archives: London Parks & Gardens Trust
London’s Olympics and London’s Parks
Crystal Palace in Sydenham, South London
On 13 February 2012, I’m giving a lecture on the Olympic Games for the London Parks & Gardens Trust. In an illustrated talk, I will look at the role of London’s parks in London’s past Olympic Games, held in 1908 and 1948, and how the 2012 Olympic Games are creating a new parkland. I will also dip into earlier Olympian history, like the 1866 National Olympian Games, which were held in the park at Crystal Palace.
The lecture will take place at The Garden Museum in Lambeth Palace Road. Doors open at 6.30 pm, and the talk starts at 7.00 pm.
Filed under Talks