Forget regeneration, new jobs and more children taking up long jump, the real legacy of the Olympics is visible all around us, but perhaps not quite what Lord Coe had in mind. In London (and throughout Britain) a growing number of ‘Olympic Kebab’, ‘Olympic Car Wash’, and even ‘Olympic Sewing Machine Repair’ shops have been spotted.
More than 70 photographs of this growing collection are featured in our latest book ‘Olympics: A snapshot history of the Olympic Games’
The book brings together the photographs alongside quirky stories from past Games, bringing alive the history of the Olympics like never before.
What has Olympic Chicken & Pizza got to do with Usain Bolt’s historic 100m victory? What about the Olympic Hair Salon’s connection with Eric Liddell and the famous ‘Chariots of Fire’ Olympics of 1924? Why is Olympic Tyre Car Repairs the perfect image to explain the chaos of the bike racing London in 1908? And for the cheating marathon runner; that’ll be an Olympic Taxi for Frederick Lorz!
Check out the book here.