Water Polo Arena

The Water Polo Arena stood in the south-east corner of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, next to the Aquatics Centre and across the Waterworks River from the Olympic Stadium. Built as a temporary venue for the 2012 Summer Olympics, it formed part of one of the most compact areas of the park. The arena shared back-of-house facilities with the Aquatics Centre to make efficient use of the limited space. During the Games, the 5,000-seat arena hosted both men’s and women’s water-polo competitions. Inside, a warm-up pool and a 37-metre competition pool provided space for athletes to train and compete. After the Olympics, the structure was dismantled and its materials recycled, including the PVC roofing covers. The organisers reused parts of the venue elsewhere and recycled membranes through a closed-loop system to meet environmental standards. Visitors to the site today will find a flat, open area where the arena once stood. The surrounding landscape includes pathways that once led to the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre. The riverbank offers views towards the former competition pool’s location, now marked only by the layout of the park. The area remains part of the larger Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, a place where temporary structures once hosted some of the world’s top athletes.