Olympic venues and a red steel observation tower sit inside Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with a covered shopping mall close by. Batman Begins used the interior of a Victorian pumping station on the park's edge as Arkham Asylum.
What Stratford looks like
Stratford sits about six miles northeast of Charing Cross in East London. Its station is one of the busiest in the country, with more than forty million entries and exits a year across Underground, DLR, Overground and National Rail platforms.
Most of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park's 560 acres lies here. The ArcelorMittal Orbit, a red steel lattice tower, rises between the London Stadium's open steel bowl and the , whose curved roof and blue glass wall sit over two 50 metre pools reached along paths beside the river channel.
Westfield Stratford City is a covered shopping mall close to three hundred stores deep, with anchor stores including John Lewis, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. A twenty screen cinema and , open around the clock, sit inside.
Around Gerry Raffles Square, the 's brick front carries its name painted across it in large letters, a bronze statue standing in the square outside. The nearby is a three storey Italianate building from 1869, and the , a 1970s shopping centre, sits a short walk away.
, a Gothic Revival brick building from 1868 with an ornate lantern tower and corner turrets, stands behind a fence at the edge of the park. East Village, on the park's northern side, has gold and glass residential towers rising over lower blocks and a line of trees.
Shot in Stratford
Gangs of London has filmed inside Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, according to an on record quote from its own location manager on the park's official website. The Apple TV+ series Slow Horses and the Marvel film Black Widow have too, though none of the three productions names an exact building or scene. Killing Eve found a more specific address. The Netflix series sent Eve to pass Villanelle a hidden microphone in a restaurant scene at Darkhorse Restaurant and Bar on Victory Parade, in the East Village neighbourhood, for the season two episode Wide Awake.
Bronco Bullfrog, 1969
Played The cafe robbed in the opening scene
Bronco Bullfrog's opening cafe robbery was filmed on Stratford High Street, at a cafe the gang also uses as their regular hangout. The building survives today at 273 High Street, now a Thai restaurant. Two other locations from the film still stand nearby, Del's father's house at 17 Windmill Street and Irene's flat in the Green Point block on Water Lane. Street View
The Magic Christian, 1969
Theatre Royal Stratford East
Played A theatre
A theatre scene was filmed inside the Theatre Royal Stratford East, on Gerry Raffles Square. The venue's brick front carries its name painted across it in large letters, with a bronze statue standing in the square outside. Street View
Batman Begins, 2005
Abbey Mills Pumping Station
Played Arkham Asylum, Gotham City
Christopher Nolan used the interiors of Abbey Mills Pumping Station for Arkham Asylum. The building is Grade II* listed, in a Gothic Revival style dating from 1868, with an ornate central lantern tower and smaller corner turrets. Street View
Bridget Jones's Baby, 2016
London Aquatics Centre
Played Bridget's antenatal class venue
Bridget's antenatal and birthing classes were filmed at the London Aquatics Centre, under its curved roof and two 50 metre pools. The Netflix series Killing Eve later used the same pool for a scene in its fourth season episode Don't Get Eaten, with Carolyn interrupting a swim to talk to a character called Vlad, the pool doubling as a Russian one.
Oh My Goodness (Olly Murs), music video, 2012
Westfield Stratford City
Olly Murs shot the video for Oh My Goodness at Westfield Stratford City in January 2012, four months after the centre opened, with an escalator sighting and a chase through the shop displays. Marcus Lundin directed it, and the video went up on YouTube and VEVO that February. Street View
The steel framed stadium bowl, curved arena roofs and landscaped waterways read as generic Olympic infrastructure, close in scale and material to Sydney's own 2000 Games venues. Sydney's venues sit under a brighter, drier sky and its stadium bowl runs larger, so tighter frames away from the horizon hold the match best. Try searching steel stadium bowl waterways now.
Chicago Avenue Pumping Station in Chicago, Illinois
Both are Gothic Revival waterworks from the same decades, built with a castellated tower and pointed arch windows over the machinery inside. Chicago's tower is pale limestone rather than Abbey Mills' polychrome brick, so the match holds best on the tower's silhouette rather than close on the stonework. Try searching Gothic Revival waterworks tower now.
CityPlace in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
East Village's glass clad towers set along planted paths match the scale and materials of Toronto's own recent waterside tower development. CityPlace's towers stand taller and closer together, so a wide shot needs a foreground tree line to hide the difference. Try searching glass towers waterside development now.
