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When the mayor of London was asked why it was chosen for the Olympic venue, he stated "Stratford in the London Borough of Newham, East London, is one of the capital’s most diverse and economically deprived areas (the 11th most in the UK). However, in terms of facilitating the Olympics, the area has the twin advantages of sizeable available brownfield sites for redevelopment, as well as the green spaces of the Lower Lea Valley, and a major transport hub in the form of Stratford International Station, which will open in 2010 and will provide services to both Paris/Brussels via Eurostar" (By Andrew Stevens, UK Editor). This enables us to understand the purposes in which it was decided by the labour government to bring Stratford city back to life. However, the purpose of this blog is to understand whether these changes are beneficial or not and if they are, who do they benefit? The government or the communities that depend on them.

Page by page we are going to be looking at other factors that represent Stratford in the contemporary media and provide an analysis of its agenda focusing on the cases of legal offenses, its cultural movement of fashion, music and sports, and the people inhabiting the area. As one of the most deprived areas in London, this blog will examine the effect of the ‘regeneration’ of the area on the residents and see whether they have benefited from the attention and money invested in their town.