This post was contributed by Alessandro Storer, a Stratford resident and Park Champion.

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the first of a series of workshops called “East London In Flux” organised by Fundamental Architectural Inclusion and Birkbeck, University of London.

We started off with a great lecture on Olympic cities that showed how cities have been changing as a result of hosting the Olympic Games. Like everything in life, there have been highs and lows, but London is certainly on the right track to being one of the most successful examples ever! And why’s that? In my opinion it is because of all the excitement that the London Games have generated, because of all the passion and energy of the volunteer Games Makers, and because of the engagement and inclusion of local communities after the Games! We are the Legacy, us people who got excited during the games and are now eager to keep the energy high and make the best of the great gift the Olympics left to the community: an extraordinary park and state of the art sports facilities!

The day organised by Fundamental ended with a tour of the QEOP, accompanied by one of the architects that designed it! It has been amazing to discover so many hidden stories about how the park was built trying to preserve history and respect nature and surroundings!

I still smile thinking about the story of the lonely swan that was joined by a second swan at the end of the works on the Park and are now inseparable! I encourage everybody to go and have a walk in the Park, you’ll be amazed by it…and you might spot the two lovely swans!

Also, do check out the upcoming events of the “East London In Flux” series…a great way to learn new things, meet new people and taking ownership of the London 2012 Olympic Legacy!