Moulded around the iconic u-bend of the River Thames, Tower Hamlets is one of London’s most diverse and dynamic boroughs. It offers an eccentric mix of old and new, as seen in the regeneration of the old docks into one of the world’s leading financial hubs at Canary Wharf. Scattered throughout the borough are reminders of its past; Wilton’s Music Hall, the oldest surviving in the world, can be found nestled amongst the latest constructions on the fringe of the city. Residents and visitors alike frequent the borough’s many attractions, including the Tower of London and its markets such as Brick Lane, Spitalfields and Columbia Road. While the borough prospers from its many attractions and Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, according to the Government Office for London, is the second most deprived borough in London and the third most deprived nationally.

The borough has a high turn-over of residents each year due to the constant flow of jobs in and around Canary Wharf. Like the other five Olympic host boroughs, Tower Hamlets is ethnically diverse, with over half of its 220,500 population coming from a non-white British ethnic group.