Viral video captures London's Olympic velodrome "reflecting fireworks as farts"
A video of London's Olympic velodrome, designed by local studio Hopkins Architects, has gone viral on social media for echoing fart-like sounds while fireworks exploded nearby.
Passerby Matt McClafferty captured the footage of the unusual sounds coming from the velodrome, now named Lee Valley VeloPark, last Thursday as firework displays went off in celebration of Bonfire Night.
London's Olympic velodrome has gone viral on TikTok for echoing fireworks as fart-like sounds
McClafferty posted the video to TikTok with text overlaid that read "Just the London Olympic velodrome reflecting fireworks as farts", and captioned the post 'Who designed this?".
The video has racked up over 141,000 likes. One amused TikTok viewer commented, "Give that architect a raise because that's comedy gold".
Built in 2011 at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympic Games, the 6,000-seat velodrome has a double-curved roof designed to mirror the shape of the cycling track inside. This design has led to the nickname The Pringle.
Narrow openings in the timber-clad exterior, which appeared to be where the fart-like sounds were coming from, help to naturally ventilate the building.
The velodrome opened to the public in 2014, and features track, road, MTB and BMX cycling circuits as well as indoor and outdoor gyms.
Hopkins Architects was founded in 1976 by Michael and Patty Hopkins, who were jointly awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1994. Michael Hopkins, an early pioneer of high-tech architecture, passed away in 2023 at the age of 88.
Other buildings designed by Hopkins Architects include an indoor tennis centre topped with a sweeping roof at Wimbledon in London, and a performing arts and education centre at the University of Oxford.
The video is by Matt McClafferty and the top photo is by Picasa via Wikimedia Commons.
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