We don’t need to remind you all of the dramatic, amazing and at times frenzied summer we’ve just experienced here in Stratford.

It’s fair to say the area has been the focus of some monumental change this year (not to mention the addition of London’s newest neighbourhood!) Yet as we reflect on such an incredible, adrenaline-fuelled summer we’re not just looking at was has been, but what’s next for Stratford; how has the legacy of the Games embedded itself in the culture of the area so far and what can we look forward to?

We crafty London Living lot have  produced a word cloud showing just how Stratford has been represented in online conversations over the last twelve months. The below diagram shows you which terms have been most frequently used by those talking about the area since last October.

As you can see, there’s an abundance of words evocative of a strong community connection, testament to the omnipresent communal atmosphere of the area in general; it’s fantastic to see words like “great”, “home” and “park” so prominent.

As East Village, we’ve also done a tremendous amount of work with local communities and businesses within the local area of late. For example, we recently worked with other leading Stratford ventures to put together the wonderful ‘Re-discover your Stratford‘ festival.

This was a festival aimed at handing Stratford back to its residents after normality was flung out of the window in a giddy summer of athletic feats and spectacular ceremony. To do this, we provided free experiences to Stratford residents to help them ”re-discover” an area which has returned to normal to some extent – but is still changing and evolving in exciting ways.

Many of these experiences came about as a result of our various partnerships with Stratford Circus, (who should need little introduction but do meet their fantastic CEO, Clare Connor, in the meantime). We sponsored their Family Day and also supported local community project The Amazings (you can meet them here, too), through their Stratford photography walking tour as well as Sugarhouse Studios (yep, we’ve spoken to them as well) and their recent Made in 3 Mills film festival.

And need we remind you about our full-scale LEGO model of the Olympic Park and East Village?

So, if you think all that’s pretty cool, you should definitely head down to latest Stratford show-stopper at Getty Images Gallery at Westfield Stratford, The Collection of Tomkins and Bush: Michael Jackson Wardrobe - “a unique collection of personal and concert tour wardrobe worn by the world renowned King of Pop” where you can get up close to some of MJ’s most famous garments.

What do you love most about Stratford? How do you think the area has changed and what’s there to look forward to? We’d love to hear from you so do get in touch with us here.