Great Expectations, part one

The world may be coming to East London in 2012, but the world is already represented and residing in Hackney, East London.

With the Olympics arriving on their doorstep, BBC World Service will be following the experiences of residents living in one inner city housing estate as they contemplate what the games mean to them and their future.

In this new documentary Great Expectations, BBC World Service will be meeting residents of the estate, whose backgrounds span different corners of the world from Hackney, to amongst others: Jamaica, Turkey, Algeria, Senegal and India.

"We never asked the rest of the world to come here, but seeing as you’re coming let’s make a party of it – involve us, just get us involved!"

This is a plea to the Olympic authorities from Darrell James, local resident and winner of the Thierry Henry award for his youth work.

In the build up to the games, BBC World Service will be regularly returning to the estate, to find out how the huge multi billion dollar investment and regeneration plans are affecting them.

Some, like Darrell, fear more crime and a widening gap between the rich and poor, or that they’ll be priced out of the area altogether.

But others, like 15-year-old Sintayeh from Ethiopia, think that the new facilities will give him better prospects.

Whether that be taking advantage of the better transport links, moving into new housing being built, or just reading from the brand new library.