Floodlight erection begins at former Olympic Stadium

Installation of the first of 14 new floodlight towers for the former Olympic Stadium in east London has begun.

Each floodlight measures 18m in length, weighs 45t and will take up to 12 hours to be lifted into place.

The floodlights were initially used for the 2012 Olympic Games and had to be removed as the stadium’s old roof was removed last year. Work is now progressing on the erection of a new stadium roof – the largest spanning tensile structure in the world – and the installation of the floodlights is an integral element.

The lights retain their iconic triangular design but hang inverted below the stadium’s new roof. Each floodlight houses between eight and 41 lamps, many of which are original lamps that shone over the stadium during London 2012 games.

As work begins on the floodlight towers, the steel frame for the halo that surrounds the base of the stadium has now been completed. This structure will contain 96 turnstiles, 33 catering outlets and close to 1,000 toilets.

Working on behalf of the main contractor Balfour Beatty, William Hare is erecting the steelwork for the new roof. The reconfigured stadium will be ready to host matches for this autumn’s Rugby Union world cup and will then become the new home of West Ham United FC for the 2016/17 season.