Westfield Stratford is likely to have to shut early on the day of the Olympics opening ceremony following a request from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

Westfield has said that it expects that the mall will have to be closed at 3pm “to assist LOCOG with the logistics of the Opening Ceremony”.

After 3pm, the centre’s restaurants cafes and cinema will remain open for customers with bookings or for guests attending the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony only. The casino will continue to trade as usual.

Retailers at Westfield Stratford have already complained that the closure of the mall’s car park in advance of the Olympics has resulted in a sharp drop in shoppers.

But during the course of the Olympic and Paralympic Games the shopping centre’s retailers will be able to increase their trading hours by 30%.

For the first six days of the Games the mall is expected to shut an hour later at 10pm and between 28 July and 12 August it will close two hours later at 11pm. It will then revert to a 10pm closing for the rest of the Games.

Across the entire period, food and beverage units will be able to stay open until 12.30am.

In a statement Westfield said: “The required change to Opening Ceremony Day centre trading hours is a consequence of the centre being located at the Gateway to the Olympic Games.  Whilst this is largely out of our control, we expect the Games to be a wonderful showcasing opportunity for the retailers in the centre.”