DESIGNS for the Olympic 2012 media centre have been unveiled.

The large broadcast and press centre will be constructed on the west side of the Olympic Park, close to the River Lea navigation in Hackney.

During the Games it will support about 20,000 broadcasters, photographers and journalists, who will communicate the Games to a worldwide audience of four billion people.

Sebastian Coe, London 2012 Organising Committee chairman, said: "The media will play a key role in how the world views London and the Games.

"Billions of people around the world rely on the international media to relay the stories of human endeavour on the field of play and to capture the atmosphere at Games-time.

"The impressive facilities we have planned will give us the best possible foundations for the media to tell all the stories from the London 2012 Games whilst leaving high performance workspace in legacy for the east of London."

After the Games, the facilities will provide 900,000 square ft of space for business tenants.

Tom Russell, Group Director for Olympic Legacy at the LDA, said: "The media centre site will become a major employment driver in legacy with a main focus on the creative industries, while also looking at higher educational use.

"The majority of the infrastructure being put in at the moment is for the long term use of the area and will therefore play an important role in the post 2012 development."

A planning application for the centre has been submitted this week and work is scheduled to start in Spring.