The Olympic Park in Stratford, East London has opened its doors to the public over the Easter weekend, allowing visitors in to the site for the first time since the 2012 games.
They will, however, only be allowed to access the park on accompanied tours costing £15 each for adults and £7 for children. Local residents will be able to get a discounted ticket, but the Legacy Corporation said these tickets are subject to availability.
Tickets for tours of the park and the red ArcelorMittal Orbit tower went on sale in February and have proved extremely popular, with more than 20,000 sold. The Legacy Corporation on Saturday said it will now run the tours until June 23.
As building work is continuing on much of the site visitors have to wear hard hats and high-visibility jackets to take part in the tours.
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: ? We promised to give people opportunities to get back onto the park as soon as possible and it is no surprise that there is a huge appetite from Londoners for these fantastic tours offering a chance to see this exciting metamorphosis first hand.?
In the coming months whole sections of the park are being rebuilt with new cafes, community centres and gardens added.
The Riverside Hockey Arena has been dismantled, the largest McDonald’s in the world has gone and the temporary seating stands on the Aquatics Centre are being taken down.
The new park will reopen in part to the public from July and will re-open fully from next Spring.
Some of the landscaping is being done ahead of a series of concerts and track events that will be held in the park over the summer. The London Anniversary Games will be held at the stadium on July 26 and 27 , the Diamond League athletics meeting is expected to attract a host of star names including Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
Although the Olympic Stadium is due to stage the 2017 World Athletics Championships, doubt remains over its long-term future as a dual-use arena.
West Ham United last week successfully fought off a challenge from fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and League One football team Leyton Orient to finally secure a 99-year lease on the stadium after much legal wrangling.
The £292 million ($463 million, 348 million euro) complete transformation of the park, which began when the London 2012 Games ended, was scheduled to take 18 months.
London's Olympic Park reopens to the public
