Sustainability and the environment feature in all our courses at UCR, and the students wanted to explore whether these themes, which were at the heart of London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, were still evident today.

The students found that the sustainability of the infrastructure on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park means that both residents, as well as visitors and those who work in the area, can live environmentally friendly lifestyles. They saw first-hand how new venues in London are using the legacy and embedding sustainability into their own design and day-to-day operations.

You can read more about how this has been achieved and what else is planned on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park website.

During the trip, the group went to what was once the World Media Centre and is now ‘Here East’, home to innovators and creative-thinkers with ideas for start-up businesses and early-stage companies.

Rural Events Management student Sophie Tanner said: “I really enjoyed the trip to London, especially when we visited ‘Here East’. It was inspiring to see that through creativity and innovation businesses can not only reduce their impact on the environment, but they can also run a sustainable business which benefits the environment, and society too.”

Rural Events Management student Shaun Lightfoot added: “It was great to see how the original Olympic facilities are still being used now. Sustainability is a big consideration for business owners and event managers, so it was interesting to explore the ways that the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park was created with this in mind for such a large-scale event.”