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Known officially as the “Games of the XXIX Olympiad,” the Beijing Olympics is expected to be one of the greatest sports spectacles in history, involving 205 countries and around 10,500 athletes competing in 28 sports and 302 events. It will be held from August 8 to 24 in Beijing in the People's Republic of China . The famed Beijing National Stadium will host the opening ceremonies which commence at 08:08:08 pm CST on August 8.
Former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch has said that he expects the Beijing Olympics to be "the best in Olympic history."
Beijing Olympic venues
The Beijing Olympics will have 37 competition venues in all -- 31 in Beijing and six venues just outside the city -- and 59 training centers. The six main venues are as follows:
Beijing National Stadium
This national stadium has the nickname "Bird's Nest" because of its architectural design resembles a steel nest. Aside from the opening and closing ceremonies, the Beijing National Stadium will also host the track and field competitions.
The stadium is 69.2 meters tall and has a length of 330 meters and width of 220 meters. It has a seating capacity of 100,000. Construction cost is around US$423 million.
This stadium, which was designed as the centerpiece of the Beijing Olympics, is the result of a worldwide competition among leading architectural firms. Herzog & de Meuron Architekten AG, based in Switzerland , won the rights to design the stadium, in collaboration with the China Architecture Design & Research Group. Its design included plans for a giant retractable roof, but this was later scrapped for safety and economic reasons.
Beijing National Indoor Stadium
This multi-functional venue, located at Beijing 's Olympic Green, will be the site of the Artistic Gymnastics, Trampoline, and Handball competitions. It can house 19,000 spectators.
The Beijing National Indoor Stadium had a dry run in November 2007 when it hosted a national Artistic Gymnastics event and received rave reviews.
After the Olympics, the stadium is envisioned to be an exercise center for the locals as well as a venue for cultural and entertainment events.
Beijing National Aquatics Centre
Located right beside the Beijing National Stadium, this venue is the site of the Swimming, Diving and Synchronized Swimming competitions. It is fondly called the "Water Cube." It can accommodate 17,000 spectators.
The Beijing National Aquatics Centre is made mostly out of ETFE (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene), which is similar to plastic but is durable and more susceptible to light and heat penetration. This design will bring about 30% savings in energy cost.
Considered as the biggest ETFE structure in the world, the Beijing National Aquatics Centre has already won two prestigious awards: the Venice Biennale Award for most accomplished work (Atmosphere section) in 2004 and the Popular Science Award for Best of What's New in Engineering in 2006.
Olympic Green Convention Center
This sparkling new convention center will host the Fencing , Shooting and Fencing disciplines of the Modern Pentathlon. Spanning around 270,000 square meters, the center will also serve as the Main Press Center and Broadcast Center for international media.
After the Olympics, this top-flight convention center will be used for major conventions and exhibitions.
Olympic Green
This is Beijing 's Olympic Park and the venue of several competition sites, including the Beijing National Stadium, Beijing National Aquatics Center , Beijing National Indoor Stadium, Olympic Green Convention Center, Olympic Green Hockey Field, Olympic Green Archery Field, Olympic Green Tennis Center and the Olympic Village.
Local authorities have ensured that Olympic Green is easily accessible to spectators, both locals and international sports fans alike.
Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center
This indoor arena will be the venue of two popular sports events, the basketball and baseball competitions. The basketball area has a seating capacity of 18,000 while the baseball field can accommodate 15,000 spectators.
This March, the baseball field was the venue for the "MLB China Series" featuring two teams from the USA 's Major League Baseball, the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the first time that two MLB teams played in China .
Calendar of Events
The Beijing Olympics formally kicks off with its opening ceremonies on August 8. The football (soccer) competitions will begin two days earlier, on August 6. Most of the other events will begin on August 9, including Archery, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Cycling, Equestrian, Fencing, Gymnastics, Handball, Judo, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Volleyball, Water Polo and Weightlifting.
Diving, Field Hockey, Swimming and Tennis will begin on August 10, while Canoeing starts on August 11. Softball and Wrestling commence on August 12, Baseball and Table Tennis on August 13, Athletics on August 15, Triathlon and Synchornized Swimming on August 18 and the Modern Pentathlon on August 21.
The events with the most gold medals at stake are Athletics with 47, Swimming with 34, Cycling and Wrestling with 18 each, Canoeing with 16, Shooting and Weightlifting with 15 each, and Judo and Rowing with 14 each.
Tickets
The Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee has allocated more than seven million tickets for the competitions as well as for the opening and closing ceremonies. About 75% of all tickets are allotted for domestic sales and are sold at relatively low prices to encourage maximum attendance among the Chinese.
International tickets can be purchased through each country's National Olympic Committee. Tickets were put on sale as early as April 14, 2007.
Public Transport
Beijing 's subway system has undergone a major expansion to more than double its capacity in preparation for the Olympic Games. Preparations include the addition of seven lines and over 80 new stations to the existing four lines and 64 stations.
The additional lines include a station that links the Beijing Capital International Airport directly to several Olympic Games venues. Moreover, Beijing has added 11 new trains to the airport to aid with people movement during the Olympic Games. These new trains become operational in June 2008, about a month before the Beijing Olympics.
Beijing has also outfitted all Metro cars plying the city with video screens to show constant updates on the Olympic Games.
Moreover, the city has designated 38 public transit routes linking directly to various Olympic Games venues. As many as 2,500 large buses and 4,500 mini-buses will be manned by 8,000 drivers to ply these routes for the duration of the Beijing Olympics.
Foreign visitors should note that smoking is banned in virtually all corners of the Beijing transport system. Violators will be fined between US$13 to US$26.
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