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An Evening Standard investigation today suggests that London's historic Greenwich Park could be overwhelmed by the need to fit in hundreds of temporary buildings to host the Olympic horse riding events in 2012.
A detailed inspection of the crosscountry course and show-jumping arena in Hong Kong revealed that the infrastructure required by the IoC for the event will impose significant burdens on Greenwich. There is also a clear disparity between Hong Kong and Greenwich in the space available for the facilities.
The Olympic competition manager who will run the vast majority of the events at Greenwich insisted to the Standard that the Games would have "negligible" impact on the park but Tim Hadaway admitted that it was not yet clear how all the ancillary facilities needed for Greenwich's role could be fitted in without damaging the landscape.
Greenwich Park, dating back to the 14th century, is the oldest in London and the only one that is also a World Heritage site. The decision to stage the horseriding events there has been met with growing alarm from local people and many in the equestrian world who say the park is too small to survive without serious harm to its historic trees and precious landscape.
The park has a little over 180 acres at its disposal for the 2012 equestrian competition, including the site for the showjumping and dressage arena. In Hong Kong, a total of around 350 acres has been given over to the competition facilities.
After inspecting the 2008 Olympic horseriding venues in Hong Kong - the cross-country course, at the Hong Kong Golf Club at Beas River in the New Territories, and the dressage and showjumping arena, at Sha Tin racecourse - Mr Hadaway, newly appointed as manager of the London equestrian competition, told the Standard he was "even more positive" about Greenwich's role in four years' time.
"When the 2008 [cross-country] event was first mooted for the golf club, the club members were concerned in just the same way as they are in Greenwich," said Mr Hadaway. "But I walked round the cross-country course on Saturday [after the event] with the golf club manager and he couldn't have been more relaxed about it.
"I've had a very close look at the site. The impact of the horses running across the ground has been negligible, the damage is very limited. Already, they were playing golf again on part of what had been the cross-country course just five days before."
The Standard spent the day of the cross-country competition at Beas River and also made a thorough examination of the site. Mr Hadaway's claim that the ground was little damaged is true. Along the 4.5 kilometre, 10-metre-wide course, the 70 competitor horses' hooves had caused only gouging. At pinch-points, turns and on downhill stretches, there was more substantial but still relatively minor, damage.
However, other aspects of the operation were far more intrusive and seem likely to cause serious concern about whether something similar could be attempted at Greenwich Park.
Dotted throughout the cross-country venue alone, the Standard counted a total of 311 separate temporary buildings or structures brought in for the event, ranging from 7ft by 7ft tents and dozens of standard-sized shipping containers to numerous massive portable buildings up to 100ft long. There were also at least 41 separate portable generators sprinkled around the course.
Among the larger buildings were: two two-storey luxury viewing areas for high-rollers, a broadcast compound, a supply vehicle depot and delivery centre, a venue operations control centre, a media centre and press conference room, a staff canteen, an athletes' and grooms' canteen, a police command centre, stables, a 52-portable-cabin grooms' village, a souvenir shop, three security search areas, grooming boxes, a farrier's tent, a briefing tent, a veterinary clinic, a stewards' office and three public refreshment areas.
Each of the 29 substantial fences had a small tent for security and officials beside it and the course was also sprinkled with temporary first aid and service buildings. Miles of cabling and temporary hard surface had been laid beneath and across the grass of the venue and around 150 golf buggies, with their own depot, provided transport around the vast site.
In addition to the course and the sites occupied by buildings, two huge areas had been set aside as warm-up arenas for horses and riders. One, about 200ft long, was so large that it even had its own viewing stands. A third compound was a finishing area where competitors could cool down and unsaddle, lined with tents, one for each nation competing. There was also a massive logistical support compound where supplies were received and stockpiled.
Mr Hadaway admitted that almost all these ancillary facilities and areas were things that "the IOC will require" in London. Asked if they could all fit into Greenwich Park, he said: "I cannot judge that yet. It is a fair observation you make. What I'm thinking of is other ways these requirements can be met."
He said that some facilities, such as the grooms' accommodation and canteen, could be put in existing buildings around the park. Other buildings in Hong Kong were larger than they needed to be.
"It's overkill," he said. "We will be able to run things without anything like the number of people they have here, which will in turn reduce the demand for support facilities. We could do the logistics on a just-in-time basis, rather than bringing it all in at once, which would mean the logistics support area doesn't need to be as big."
Two major differences mean that some aspects of London's operation will actually have to be larger than that seen at the Hong Kong crosscountry course. First, of course, Greenwich Park will be hosting not just the cross-country - which accounts for just a single morning of the 13 days of competition - but also the main events, the dressage and showjumping, which in Hong Kong are hosted separately. Greenwich will be the first time in Olympic history that all the horse events have been held together at an inner-city site.
Stabling, vets' areas, officials' quarters and warm-up areas will all have to be substantially greater in Greenwich than at Beas River, simply because there are many more horses competing in the dressage and jumping. The broadcast compounds and press areas may also have to be larger. Other facilities can be duplicated between sports but they are, at the very least, likely to have to be around the same size as they are at Beas River.
The second difference is that Greenwich's cross-country course, at 6.2km (3.9 miles), will be more than a third longer than Hong Kong's, which - to vociferous complaints from riders - was reduced well below the normal Olympic distance to make it easier on the horses in the territory's extreme heat. Ingrid Klimke, a member of Germany's gold-medal-winning team in the event that includes cross-country, said: "I'm looking forward to London 2012 and the return of a normal crosscountry competition."
A 6.2km course in Greenwich will further increase the pressure on space in what is starting to look like an extremely crowded park. And unlike at Beas River, which is a golf course deliberately laid out with long fairways between clumps of trees - ideal for the horses to run on - most of Greenwich is densely populated with trees, some dating back to the reign of Charles II and counted as among London's oldest living things.
The organising committee LOCOG has promised not to fell any trees but some may be pruned or moved. The current route of the cross-country course carves a path through the park's ancient flower garden and across five avenues of centuries-old trees.
Most of the riders the Standard spoke to in Hong Kong - and the British Olympic team manager, Yogi Breisner - were positive, or at least discreetly neutral, about Greenwich Park. But the more the non-riding public learns about it, the more concern there has been.
"It is very, very worrying and the worry is growing all the time," says Michael Goldman, of No to Greenwich Olympic Equestrian Events (Nogoe), a pressure group formed to oppose the use of the park. Nogoe will meet later this week to formalise its campaign and is hoping to work with local amenity societies around the park.
"Whatever they say, they cannot fit an 11-minute [full-length] course in at Greenwich unless it is unnecessarily twisty, or something else goes," says Pippa Cuckson, former deputy editor of Horse and Hound and another opponent of using Greenwich.
"There is a background to this to which I am not unsympathetic. The IOC has occasionally considered chucking equestrianism out of the Games, and this must seem like a way of bringing it into the heart of the competition. But it is wrong to imagine that some two-hour TV transmission with the Dome in the background is going to magically save the sport."
Reader views (11)
It appears to me that a lot of local people who are contributing their hard earned cash to the Olympics fund simply DO NOT want their beloved Greenwich Park and the ancient trees ruined for them and future generations. The powers that be, need to listen.
- Pat, London
No! There are many reasons not to use the park for this event:
1) They will have to up-root beautiful, old trees
2) Local residents (like myself) will not be able to use the park recreationally (where will I jog?) for months
3) Unsuitable venue (too small, way too hilly- I reckon horses will dislocate ankles or dismount their riders as there's a really steep hill there)
amongst many others...
I am not a nimby, I love the fact that the Olympics will be nearby, but not at the expense of this beautiful park.
Choose another venue for goodness sake.
- Vicky, Greenwich, London
I live in Blackheath, very near to Greenwich and I am a keen horse rider myself, I can assure you I don't want these events to take place in Greenwich park. I have competed in cross-country myself and the park is simply not suitable for this.
Furthermore, locals will suffer endless traffic problem for at least a year due to a Blackwall tunnel lane closure and the closure of the main road in Greenwich, making it impossible to travel around either by car or bus.
- Venka, Greenwich, London
It won't be a problem, in six months time Boris will have screwed thing up so much, they'll give it to Paris anyway.
- David, London UK
London is advertising itself as the "legacy" games yet the organisers have always stated that there will be no permanent equestrian centre in Greenwich park. It would be far better if they invested in the existing facilities - such as Hickstead or Gatcombe - which can be reached relatively easily from London so spectators can attend. LOCOG want as many events in London as possible, which is admirable, but events such as the sailing (Weymouth), rowing (Eton) and BMX (Essex) will be taking place outside of London.
Locals are only protesting as Greenwich park is unsuitable, they are not being anti-2012. Indeed, most people will welcome the games. It just sounds as though Tim Hadawsy hadn't thought everything through. He still has 4 years left and plenty of time to switch the events. Far better to lose a bit of face in doing that, than trying to organise them in too small a venue.
- John, Greenwich, UK
Billions of people will see the beauty of Greenwich as a backdrop to one of the most picturesque of the Olympic sports.
- Layla J, London
I am horrified that the Greenwich equestrian park manager is quoted as saying he cannot judge yet whether all the required components will fit into the Park. This same gentleman is, according to London 2012's own media release, a former employee of the British Equestrian Federation and London 2012 seems to infer he had input into the original choice of Greenwich which must have been made over four years ago. Why is he none the wiser after all this time? Did they just pick it out of a hat?
- Peter Richards, Peckham, South London
What does W R Stevenson know about "the locals"? You sound about as well informed as the old buffers in the House of Lords who opined that there was no local opposition.
I am a Greenwich "local" and can tell you that more than half of the locals don't want the 2012 Olympics cross-country equestrian events to take place in Greenwich Park at all, and a similar proportion would be thrilled and relieved - not disappointed in the least - were the venue for all the equestrian events to be Hickstead.
- Rachel M, London, UK
"The locals want something to take place in 2012. Better to not disappoint them entirely."
Are you sure? I should think most of them plan to be away for that period of time, and would just be relieved if it moved somewhere else.
- Sarf East Mum, Bexley UK
What I don't understand is why the IOC agreed to Beijing staging the Equstrian Events in Hong Kong which is half a continent away, yet we can't use Burleigh, Hickstead or Gatcombe Park which are only a mere 100 miles or so away from the London centre.
- Richard Meredith, huntingdon, UK
Andrew Gilligan may be right in assuming that Greenwich Park is too small for for all of the events. Some can be hived off elsewhere - and a lot of the back up facilities can spill over onto Blackheath. The locals want something to take place in 2012. Better to not disappoint them entirely.
- W R Stevenson, London
