Fatter fans to get wider seats at London Olympic pool

Wider seats have been specified for the London 2012 Olympics so that Britain’s growing population can squeeze in to watch the swimming and diving during the games.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has agreed with its Aquatics Centre design team of Zaha Hadid and Arup that the temporary demountable structures used to increase the venue’s capacity to 20,000 seats during the games will house seats that are 500mm wide by 800mm deep each.  

Contractors will need to order 17,500 temporary seats.  

Temporary structures contractors told NCE that the current average size of seats available on the temporary seating market is 460mm wide by 750mm deep. However, those dimensions are increasing as the average size of spectators gets bigger.  

East London-based Edwin Shirley Staging (ESS) is acting as temporary structures consultant to the Aquatics Centre design team.

ESS business development director Jeff Burke said that although the initial capital cost is greater, the ODA’s decision to go with larger seats made good business sense.

“Most seats are 460–470mm wide, but people are getting bigger,”  said Burke.

“Most temporary seats  (in future) are going to be 500mm  wide. And if you can imagine that  a seat was specified at 460mm, but  there was then only 500mm wide  seats available at the time they began  procuring, then the building  would potentially not be big enough  to put all the seats there.” 

Arena Seating managing director  Joe O’Neill said he agreed  there was a need for temporary  seating to be larger and guidance  such as the government’s Guide  to Safety at Sports Grounds, more  commonly known as the Green  Guide, had long promoted the use  of 500mm by 800mm seats. 

An ODA spokesman said: “The  ODA is specifying 500mm seats  for the Aquatics Centre and this is  incorporated in the design. These  will be procured by the contractor  once appointed.”