CHINA: OLYMPICS - Beijing's Olympic Bird's Nest Stadium makes its debut to the foreign media

Record ID: 329444

  • Title: CHINA: OLYMPICS - Beijing's Olympic Bird's Nest Stadium makes its debut to the foreign media
  • Date: 16th April 2008
  • Summary: (ASIA) BEIJING, CHINA (APRIL 15, 2008) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WATCHING THE BIRD'S NEST STADIUM THROUGH FENCE PEOPLE TAKING PICTURES OF THE STADIUM THROUGH FENCE GUARDS STANDING AND PEOPLE LOOKING THROUGH FENCE PEOPLE TAKING PICTURES OF THE STADIUM PEOPLE LOOKING AT THE STADIUM ON BRIDGE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) TOURIST, SHEN HONG SAYING: "The Bird's Nest is a great symbol for our Olympics. This is my first time seeing the stadium physically. Before this, I only saw it on pictures. I feel quite good." PEOPLE WALKING ON STREET AND PASSING BRIDGE PEOPLE WALKING PASSED POLICE PEOPLE TAKING PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) MS. HUANG SAYING: "I came all the way from Shanghai to see the Bird's Nest. It is so great and so beautiful. Inside the stadium, it must be even more beautiful, first-class."
  • Embargoed: 1st May 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA94EHBO0G9HGMQXJZDPW1KUC1S
  • Story Text: Bird's Nest -- China's new Olympic National Stadium, opens its door for the first time to international media.
    China's main Olympic stadium, better known as the Bird's Nest opened its doors to the international media for the first time on Wednesday (April 16).
    The iconic 3.5 billion yuan (500.2 million U.S. dollars (USD)) arena, the centrepiece of the Beijing Olympics took more than four years to build.
    Construction started in December 2003 and completed 14 weeks behind schedule.
    It will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the athletics and soccer finals during the Aug. 8-24 Summer Games.
    With 114 days to go until the opening ceremony, the finishing touches still need to be done. Workers painted lines on the running track and some of the 91,000 seats had yet to be fixed in place.
    A large band of volunteers, mostly university students, said they were very proud to be granted the opportunity to work in the stadium.
    "This is my first time in the stadium, and I feel very proud to have the opportunity to witness our Olympics with my own eyes. I hope the Games will be successful," said Li Qian, a student from China's renowned Peking University said.
    From the inside, the interwoven steel structure that gives the stadium its nickname was largely hidden by a membrane. The design will keep the rain off and prevent unsightly shadows from ruining television pictures on sunny days.
    The roof that was in the original design was cut out of plans in 2004 as a cost-cutting measure. One of the chief engineers of the Bird's Nest Stadium Michael Kwok said the change would not affect the use of the stadium.
    "Of course, it would be so nice to have a retractable roof. But when you also consider how often that roof may be used, to find a balance between the cost effectiveness of such a system. Because there are many stadiums that have retractable roofs but when you look at how often it is being used, then the extra cost of doing a roof that can be open and close actually might not be justified," Michael Kwok said.
    The Beijing meteorological office is also experimenting with rain-prevention measures to stop wet weather from spoiling the opening ceremony.
    The iconic Olympic venue attracted hundreds of Chinese tourists from all over the country, who are enthusiastic about the upcoming Games.
    "The Bird's Nest is a great symbol for our Olympics. This is my first time seeing the stadium physically. Before this, I only saw it on pictures. I feel quite good," said Shen Hong, a tourist from Shanghai said.
    "I came all the way from Shanghai to see the Bird's Nest. It is so great and so beautiful. Inside the stadium, it must be even more beautiful, first-class," said Ms. Huang, a tourist from the financial hub Shanghai.
    The stadium was supposed to have been finished along with the other venues by the end of 2007 but the completion date was first postponed to the end of March and then to the middle of April.
    Organisers said there is still a lot of preparation needed to be done in the stadium for what is expected to be a lavish opening ceremony on the evening of August.
    It was the only significant delay in a building programme that presented a clear contrast with the last Summer Games in Athens, where the last licks of paint were being applied only days before the Games began.
    The first event to take place at the stadium is the IAAF men's 20-km walking test event on Friday (April 18). Over the weekend, there will be a Good Luck Beijing marathon will also finish at the Bird's Nest.
    An athletics test event from May 22-25 will be the first thorough test of the stadium's ability to host top level track and field events.
    After the Games, an auction will be held for naming rights that could result in a foreign company attaching its brand to the the stadium.
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