London 2012 Olympic Stadium wrap unveiled

Artist Sophie Smallhorn has created the colour story for the wrap for the Populous-designed Olympic stadium, which is set to be unveiled over the next couple of days.

The London 2012 Olympic Games stadium wrap
Colours from the London 2012 Olympic Games stadium wrap, as seen from the inside of the stadium, designed by Populous with colours by Sophie Smallhorn

The £7m fabric wrap is sponsored by Dow Chemical, though the company’s branding will not be shown. Populous, which was respsonsibe for the main wrap design, appointed Smallhorn to the project prior to the announcement of Dow’s sponsorship in summer 2011.

The wrap is formed of canvas banners that run from the top to the bottom of the stadium’s exterior, creating 300 smaller ‘doorways’. Each banner is assigned a different colour from a palette of 56 colours in total to create an undulating effect.

Smallhorn was briefed to emphasise the four main brand colours used in the Wolff Olins Olympic logo – green, blue, pink and orange, with each colour designating one of the four stadium entrances.

The London 2012 Olympic Games stadium
The London 2012 Olympic Games stadium, featuring the canvas wrap designed by Populous with colours by Sophie Smallhorn

The other colours are arranged without any deliberate hierarchy, aiming to create a ‘dynamic rhythm of colour and energy’ to reflect the excitement surrounding the games, according to a spokesman for the artist. The colours will also act as navigation tools within the stadium.

Sophie Smallhorn says, ‘For me, colour is an international language, understood by all on many levels. To be given the opportunity to breathe colour into this iconic Olympic building and to influence how people might approach and interact with it has been truly inspiring.’

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  • gez evans November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    well done Sophie. It looks great

  • Len Aldis November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    The colour should be Red to indicate the blood of the many thousands of Vietnamese who died due to Dow’s Agent Orange and the 4.8 million that are today still suffering from its effects. This coming 10th August will be the 51st anniversary of when the US began to use 80 million litres of Agent Orange on Vietnam over a ten-year period.

    http://www.lenaldis.co.uk

  • Pom November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Agree completely, Gez. Sophie’s done a wonderful job.

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