U-Turn Round – Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park London

The 2012 London Olympics were a huge success, however with a reported cost of close to £9 billion the infrastructure created for the events was designed to last long after the closing ceremony concluded. With the London Legacy Development Corporation at the helm Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has been developed as a ‘dynamic new heart for east London, creating opportunities for local people and driving innovation and growth’.

We were contacted regarding outdoor interpretation at the Park and put in touch with CSM Live who had been tasked with event branding for the entirety of the 2012 Olympic venues (the largest ever undertaken in the UK). The plan was to create an audio interpretation trail around specific areas of the park, sharing various forms of audio content with visitors along the way.

U-Turn Round

The U-Turn Round was chosen to fulfil the role as outdoor audio device due to its proven track record working in harsh weather conditions as well as being incredibly resilient to vandalism. With the option to include up to 8 audio tracks selectable via a dial and operating completely from wind-up power it was an ideal solution for the project in hand.

Customisable batwings allow the inclusion of graphic content, in this case a call to action to attract visitors to wind the handle. 4 U-Turns were used in total and installed via plinths bolted into the ground.