Stadium's retractable seating pushed and pulled by hand

  • London
. Credit: PA Wire

The Olympic running track where Bolt, Ennis and Farah struck gold during London 2012 will be out of bounds to athletes for nine months every year.

The £154m cost of converting the Olympic stadium into a new home for West Ham includes retractable seating over the running track. But unlike other venues, the seats will not be fitted with a hydraulic or electrical mechanism.

Heavy lifting cranes which were used to remove the triangular floodlights Credit: Press Association

Instead, they'll be pushed and pulled into place by a team of stadium workers. The process will take up to seven days. That means the track is likely to remain covered throughout the football season from August to May.

How the stadium looks today, without its floodlights Credit: ITV News

A warm-up track, with seating for 300 spectators, will be built next to the stadium and is likely to become the main focus for grassroots and community sport. Officials at the London Legacy Development Corporation said the manually-operated retractable seats would be cheaper to build and maintain.