A massive 60 x 43 metre 'I Love
Hackney' logo has been painted onto Mabley Green for the Olympic Games. The
park, which is immediately to the west of the Olympic Park, near Hackney Marshes has been painted
using pitch paint that is completely safe and will disappear over
time.
‘I love Hackney’ took around 10 hours to be spray painted on by a
team of two using and will last the length of the Olympic Games. It can be
walked on like normal and will have no impact on the use of the park. It
has been painted so that it will be visible from the Arcelor Mittal Orbit in the
Olympic Park and from news helicopters.
Cllr Jonathan McShane, Cabinet Member for Culture,
said:
"We're making the very most of our status as an Olympic host and we
want to entice people from all over the world to learn about Hackney, to visit
us and to invest here.
"The 'I Love Hackney' campaign is about celebrating
everything that people love about the borough and many thousands have
pinned on a badge or worn a t-shirt. Now we want TV cameras to beam
pictures of the symbol that has become synonymous with pride about Hackney all
across the world."
The I Love Hackney campaign was born in 2006, following the broadcast of a Channel 4 property programme which branded Hackney as the worst place to live in the UK.
The response from local residents and business was one of passionate defence of their area, and Hackney Museum were inspired to create an I Love Hackney exhibition which asked local celebrities to talk about why they love the borough. Out of that exhibition was born a civic pride campaign which borrowed the iconic I Love NY branding and has captured the hearts of residents and visitors ever since.
Tens of thousands of I Love Hackney badges, t-shirts and bags have been snapped up at public events over the past six years. At the recent Radio 1 Hackney Weekend, more than 35,000 I Love Hackney badges were given away and proudly worn by festival goers.
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