Olympic Times – Sports Daily

As athletes stroke the sporting gold at the Beijing Olympic Games, those big-name sporting brands hope that the effort or cash spent in preparation for the Games would also be proved lucrative. However, sometimes, things are unpredictable, just like “anything is possible”.

Being one of the of ficial sponsors, Adidas, involved with the Games since 1928, determined to secure a bigger slice of the Chinese market, where it is in strong competition with Nike.

“The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will serve as a platform for the brand to become the leading sports brand in China,” said Erica Kerner, director of Adidas’s Beijing 2008 Olympic program me. Through a combination of TV, pr int , outdoor, public relations, digital, point-of-sale and roadshows across the country, the”Im possible is Nothing” Olympic marketing campaign aims to bring sport engagement with Chinese consumers to a new level”.

Especial ly on July 5, Adidas opened its largest Brand Center worldwide, with a size of 3,170m² occupying four floors, inside the new Sanlitun Village Shopping Center in Beijing, featuring a range of unique interact ive elements that will provide consumers with a truly special retail experience.

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Sailing scored a major coup as its television coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games was recognized as ‘The Best Sports Coverage by the Host Broadcaster’ at the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) “Olympic Golden Rings” ceremony, held last night (16 December) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The IOC’s Olympic Golden Rings ceremony recognises the contribution made by the world of television to the success of the Olympic Games. Sailing won the gold award for The Best Sports Coverage by the Host Broadcasting Organisation, the Beijing Olympic Broadcasting (BOB). IOC President Jacques Rogge was amongst the leading figures from both the sporting and broadcasting world who attended the awards ceremony held at The Olympic Museum in Lausanne on Tuesday evening.

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GE, a worldwide partner of the Olympic Games, is kicking off a number of new marketing and sales efforts in advance of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and London 2012 Olympic Games.
For the London 2012 Olympic Games, GE has launched a ground-breaking moving image campaign on the side of London taxi cabs featuring a technique known as ‘motion lenticular technology’, never before used on the exterior of a taxi cab. The campaign, which runs until February 2009, features 300 London cabs displaying the new Olympic Games designs as side panels. Two creative executions have been developed – one that depicts an Olympic hurdler, the other a cyclist. As a result of the printing technology used, as the cab moves along the streets, the images appear to be animated.

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The national athletes competed at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games without any insurance policy in accordance with the global practice in sports, it has been revealed.
Our correspondent, who covered the games, learnt that the National Sports Commission failed to insure the athletes against accidents and other emergency situations that might arise at the games.
It was learnt that a budget of N5.5 million was presented to the NSC for endorsement before the games but the paper was not signed.
The special sports athletes traveling to Beijing for the Paralympics scheduled to take place between September 6 and 17 will also suffer the same fate, our correspondent also learnt.
“The practice all over the world is to insure every athlete and official before competitions so that they will be motivated to give the country their best at such events.
“We have to thank God that we did not have any serious case of injury at the games,” our source revealed.
The athletes that represented the country at the Algiers 2007 All Africa Games were fully insured by the Team Nigeria Trust Fund led by Suleiman Ali.
Our correspondent also learnt that some of the athletes, who represented the country at the Beijing Games were aware of the development and this might have affected their performances.
Nigeria finished with one silver and three bronze medals to place 61 out of the 89 countries that made it to the medals table in Beijing.
A total of 205 countries took part in the games.

from: punchng.com

- Jamaica confirmed their new-found status as the greatest sprinting nation in the world, smashing the world record to win gold in the Men’s 4 x 100m Relay at the National Stadium on Friday, August 22.

Their victory was never in question, as anchor Asafa Powell crossed the finish line in 37.10 seconds, slicing three tenths of a second off the 15-year-old world record previously held by the United States.

Nesta Carter led off the Jamaican quartet, passing to Michael Frater who stormed up the back straight. With a significant lead already in their grasp, world 100m and 200m record holder Usain Bolt sailed around the final bend further extending the gap, before handing the baton to Powell who completed the seamless performance by the Jamaicans.

Beijing 2008 Men’s 100m silver medalist Richard Thompson anchored Trinidad & Tobago home to the silver medal in 38.06, with Japan taking the bronze in 38.15.

It was Bolt’s third gold medal and third world record of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

It was also Jamaica’s first Men’s 4 x 100m Relay gold in Olympic history, bringing Jamaica’s medal tally in Athletics to six gold, three silver and one bronze.

from: beijing2008.cn

Maris Strombergs, reigning world champion from Latvia, clinched the first-ever Olympic men’s bicycle moto cross (BMX) gold Friday, beating the Games’ favorites Mike Day and Donny Robinson from the United States.
Strombergs took the lead of the eight-strong final squad from the very beginning, and finished the run at 36.190, leaving Mike Day and Donny Robinson far behind at 36.606 and 36.972 respectively.
Strombergs won the title of the 2008 BMX world championships held in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, in last May. He is leading a new generation of European riders challenging the established U.S. Squad.
“It doesn’t matter if it is the Olympics, the world championships or the European championships, the feeling is the same. I see no difference between my competitors, whether they come from the United States or New Zealand,” said Strombergs, noting that he kept cool and concentrated for the whole race.
On his tactics at the final run, the Latvian cyclist said he didn’t come out with a game plan.
“I was just trying to take the gate and come out first. I just raced my race and it came out for the best.”
On the Beijing Olympics, Strombergs said gratefully that it feels almost like home, labelling it as “great”.
The 21-year-old Latvian has been riding BMX for 16 years, and taken as a veteran despite his age.
“I’m still young. I have plans for the future, and I have a lot more to accomplish,” he said. “This Olympic gold is only one step in my career.”
Earlier Friday, Anne-Caroline Chausson from France won the women’s BMX gold, upsetting the Games’ favorite Shanaze Reade from Britain.
The International Olympic Committee on June 29th, 2003, decided to introduce BMX at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The sport which rooted in the late 1960s in southern California has brought a wild flair packed with youthful energy and colorful characters to the Games.

from: china.org.cn

Ilchenko, who was often seen sitting behind the leaders and making a move in the last kilometer in world championships, repeated the “trick” at the Olympics and successfully took the gold away from British swimmers Cassandra Patten and Keri-Anne Payne.

The two British swimmers led the race shoulder to shoulder during most part of the race with Ilchenko following behind. But the Ilchenko speeded up in the last 400 meter and surpassed the two British to finish the race first in one hour 59 minutes and 27.7 seconds.

Payne finished second in 1:59.29.2 and world championships silver medalist Patten came third in 1:59:31.0.

Ilchenko has dominated open water swimming since 2004, winning five consecutive 5km world championships and three consecutive 10km races. She is known for her ability to win in all water conditions and temperatures.

“It was a tough race. I was trying to convince myself that it was a training test. It took a lot of willpower to convince myself. But I did it,” Ilchenko said after the race.

Questioned whether her tactic of coming behind is unfair to other swimmers, Ilchenko said “it doesn’t bother me in the least.”

“It’s a competition after all and the best athlete wins. How can I just stop and let somebody else win? How can I let other girls take my medal?” said she. “I actually worked as hard as anybody else and I don’t think it’s a question at all.”

British Payne was apparently elated with a silver medal. She was stung in the mouth by a jellyfish while leading the 10km open water event at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. She was forced to stop for a gel drink and eventually finished 11th.

“It has not sunk in at all, but I’m so pleased to have a silver medal. I might have a little cry later,” she Payne.

But her teammate Patten was in tears when facing the media one hour after the race, seemingly still angry at the confrontation with Germany’s Angela Maurer at the conclusion of the race.

“Some things do happen in races and I think a lot of it is unsportsmanlike. But after races emotions can run high. That’s all I want to say about it. I don’t want to sit and slag anybody else off. At the end of the day I have the medal,” she said.

The open-water event is slated to the 2008 Olympic Games for the first time. It is also referred to as a “wrestling match in water” due to the aggressive techniques employed in competing in the sport. Competitors often knock into each other as they fight for position around the marker buoys and at the feeding stations.

“Ten kilometers is a long distance and there are a lot of girls in quite a short distance and in a short space. At the start, you have clashes on and when you are swimming you knock on each other. That does happen, that is the hard part of the race,” Patten said.

Ilchenko also complained about the clashes in the race. “It’s difficult. I myself had to clash on numerous occasions, especially with the swimmers from Brazil. The last stretch was particularly difficult. I had to via away all the time.”

Ilchenko was given a yellow card warning during the race. But she said she didn’t know it. “I didn’t see I was given a yellow card. Perhaps at the time when I was trying to break away from the two Brazilian swimmers who were quite aggressive, sometimes bordering on being unsportsmanlike. This is swimming after all, not boxing.”

The combative and aggressive nature of the open water event has failed quite some superfish in the pool. Australia’s “long distance king” Grant Hackett was disqualified when trying to get a berth in the race in Beijing at the 2008 World Championships.

“Even if you are a super star, it doesn’t mean anything when it comes to open water,” Ilchenko said.

South Africa’s Natalie du Toit, the first amputee qualified to swim the 10km open water race at the Olympics, ranked 16th.

“For me this is dream come true. I think I’m a bit upset as I wanted to come in the top five. But I even couldn’t get out of the water at the finish, so I’ve done everything I possible could. I’m glad it’s over,” she said.

“Hopefully I’ll be back for 2012 (London Olympics), where I’ll be hoping for a top five place,” she said.

source: mathaba.net

Salvatore Sanzo of Italy has won bronze in the Men’s Individual Foil at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 13, holding off fourth place finisher Zhu Jun of China 15-14 in a two-round bout.

The gold and silver medals will be decided at the Fencing Hall tonight, August 13, when Athens 2004 ninth place finisher Ota Yuki of Japan contests Olympic newcomer Benjamin Philip Kleibrink from Germany.

from: beijing2008.cn

Ota Yuki of Japan and German fencer Benjamin Philip Kleibrink will duel over the Olympic gold medal in the Men’s Individual Foil competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at 9 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8) on August 13.
Ota Yuki of Japan, ninth-place finisher at the Athens 2004 Olympics, defeated Athens 2004 silver medalist Salvatore Sanzoof from Italy 15-14 to advance to the final competition.
In another semifinal bout, Germany’s Benjamin Philip Kleibrink, gold medalist at the Venice, Italy World Cup 2007/08 defeated Zhu Jun of China 15-4 to enter the final.

Zhu will compete with Sanzo for the bronze medal at 8 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8).

source: beijing2008.cn

Italian Valentina Vezzali made Olympic Fencing history at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with her third Olympic Gold medal in Women’s Individual Foil.

Vezzali’s medal set a new Olympic record as the first fencer in Olympic history to win three Individual Foil gold medals at three consecutive Olympics – Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

Vezzali, Giovanna Trillini and Margherita Granbassi kept Italy’s dream of a podium sweep alive by advancing to three of the four available semifinal placings, only to have them crushed by Nam Hyun-hee in the second semifinal.

Vezzali’s final with Nam Hyun-hee of the Republic of Korea was a dramatic bout in which Vezzali led 3-0 after the first round only to have Hyun-hee come back in the second (4-3). In the third round the result was tied at 5-5, 29 seconds out from the finish.

With four seconds to go, Vezzali attacked her opponent directly to bring the score to 6-5 and secure the gold medal. Vezzali was carried off the piste by the jubilant head coach of Italy’s Women’s Foil team, Andrea Magro.

“In the beginning I was extremely nervous. I kept thinking, ‘this is such a good chance and I have to grasp it’. In the third round, when there was only 27 seconds left, I had a perfect chance to score but I didn’t. I failed to initiate attacks when I should have,” Hyun-hee said after the bout.

Granbassi led in the bronze medal bout against Trillini from the first touch to close the first round at 5-3. Trillini was determined to make up the point difference and fought against Granbassi to draw level at 5-5. However, Granbassi was not to be denied and secured victory at 15-12 to win her first Olympic medal.

Ten years Granbassi’s senior, Trillini’s fourth place finish is a slide down the ladder after winning four consecutive Olympic medals in Individual Foil from 1992 to 2004. To date, Trillini’s best Olympic result is her Barcelona 1992 gold medal.

Vezzali’s opponents were only able to pull off a total of 13 hits from a possible 42 touches against the Italian, who sacrificed only three points to Magdalena Mroczkiewicz of Poland to finish 15-3 in her round of 32 bout. She then defeated Zhang Lei of China 10-7 and Hungarian fencer Edina Knapek 15-3.

Seven-time Olympic medalist Trillini needed less than 16 minutes of the 27 at her disposal to win three assaults and book a place in the final four.

Before the finals, Granbassi expressed her delight at the prospect of an all Italian podium, saying, “It is one of our dreams.” The young Hun-hee put paid to that after all.

The final of the Team Foil event will take place at the Fencing Hall on August 16.

source: beijing2008.cn

Italy took both gold and bronze today, August 11, in the final of the Women’s Individual Foil at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, while Nam Hyun-hee of the Republic of Korea claimed silver.

Italy’s Maria Valentina Vezzali won the 6-5 bout for gold, with Nam Hyun-hee unable to hold her off.

Italian Margherita Granbassi won in the bronze medal 15-12 bout in a tightly fought match against her Italian teammate, Giovanna Trillini.

When asked about what she thought let her down in the bronze medal bout, Trillini replied, “The judge. I’m very angry with the referees.”

The final of the Team Foil event will take place at the Fencing Hall on August 16.

source: beijing2008.cn

At the Main Press Center on Saturday, Jaques Rogge, IOC President, was on hand to answer reporters’ questions about the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Rogge remarked that the upcoming Games represented the increasing force Asian countries have become in the sports circle, pointing out that in the last Olympics, Japan, the Republic of Korea and China showed their athletic might quite impressively.

Rogge also spoke about his visit to the Olympic Village on Friday, saying that his high opinion of the site was echoed by all athletes he spoke to while he was there. I’ve never seen an Olympic Village like this, it’s fantastic, Rogge said.

A total of 10,200 athletes are participating in competitions during the Games, Rogge revealed. Between 7,000 and 9,000 of them will be involved in the opening ceremony.

All 205 IOC member states and regions are participating in these Games, he continued.

from: beijing2008.cn

For some, not anymore. High-profile Beijing Olympics sponsors Kodak, Lenovo, and J&J are pulling the plug on future Games

With the opening ceremonies for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games just days away, corporate sponsors are getting ready to do victory laps of their own. This year’s Olympics have been hyped as a blockbuster for marketers, a chance to ride the wave of Chinese national pride that may translate into billions of dollars in sales of Adidas sneakers, McDonald’s (MCD) Big Macs, or General Electric (GE) wind turbines.
But Beijing 2008 is likely to go down as the high-water mark of the Olympic sponsorship program. While the Games offer unique attractions to sponsors, multinationals are already looking more critically at whether the payback will be worth it for future Games. Of the 12 global sponsors for the Beijing Olympics, only eight have signed on for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and 2012 Summer Games in London. (The International Olympic Committee sells sponsorships in four-year increments to cover both Winter and Summer Games.)
Among the high-profile sponsors deciding to back away is Lenovo. Its sponsorship of the 2006 Winter Games in Turin and the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing will be a one-time shot for the Chinese PC maker. Other current sponsors not ponying up for the next pair of Games will be Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Manulife Financial (MFC). Even longtime Olympic supporter Eastman Kodak (EK), a sponsor since the IOC first established its global partnership program in 1986, has pulled the plug. “It’s just not the best way for us to spend our money,” says Kodak Chief Executive Antonio Perez.
Payback Is Elusive for Sponsors
The issue comes down to weighing the value of shelling out increasing amounts of money vs. the potential payback. Companies have paid $866 million, or an average of $72 million apiece, to sponsor the Turin and Beijing Games (BusinessWeek.com, 1/30/06). That’s almost one-third more than the $663 million total paid to back the Salt Lake City and Athens Games in 2002 and 2004, and up from $579 million for the Nagano-Sydney cycle in 1998 and 2000. Rowland Jack, a senior bid consultant in the sports marketing and sponsorship team at Hill & Knowlton, says the attractiveness of the Beijing Games was probably a big factor accounting for the jump in sponsorship fees, as so many companies were interested in bidding.
Yet some research suggests few consumers even notice who is backing the Games. In a survey of 1,500 Chinese city dwellers earlier this year by London’s Fournaise Marketing Group, only 15% could name two of the 12 global sponsors, and just 40% could name one sponsor: Coca-Cola (KO). Adding to the confusion for consumers are 21 additional national-level sponsors, including Adidas and Volkswagen (VOWG.DE). “If you are a traditional marketer, it’s a big waste of money,” says Fournaise CEO Jerome Fontaine.
Some sponsors feel otherwise. Longtime partner Coke has signed on through the 2020 Games. “Coke has not in the least reconsidered its Olympic sponsorship,” says Kevin Tressler, director of Coke’s Worldwide Sports & Entertainment Marketing. Neither has GE, which has landed $700 million in revenues from 400 Olympics-related projects such as rainwater recycling at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium. GE is a partner in London 2012, too.

Chinese Market Immaturity Was a Draw
There are other factors that make the Beijing Games unique. While provisions of the IOC charter ensure that nonsponsors’ ads are restricted in and around Olympics venues to prevent ambush marketing (BusinessWeek.com, 3/12/08), Beijing extended the ban to all outdoor advertising in the city’s airports, buses, and billboards within the city center. And just two weeks ago, the China Advertising Assn. took things even further, by saying use of Chinese Olympic athletes by nonsponsors was banned countrywide during the Games—something no other host country would attempt. (Companies can, however, apply for exemptions, as Nike (NKE) has done for its spots featuring China’s gold-medal winning hurdler Liu Xiang.)
Another draw of Beijing 2008: the relative immaturity of the Chinese consumer market, and the intense pride among Chinese in hosting the Games. “For any kind of marketer or advertiser, you have to view the Olympics in Beijing differently from Olympics in other countries,” says Michael Zhang, managing director of MediaCom China (MCCM). Government officials will notice which companies show up in support (BusinessWeek.com, 5/28/08) even if consumers don’t, a major factor for sponsors in a country where guanxi, or relationships, are such an integral part of doing business.
But corporate relationship-building with government officials is unlikely to rank high when companies weigh the costs of sponsoring the 2012 Games. “I don’t see that as important in London, where you are talking about a developed and mature market where commercial realities stand on their own merits,” says Richard Basil-Jones, managing director of Nielsen Media Asia Pacific in Hong Kong.
Instead, marketers will have to weigh whether there are more cost-effective ways to reach consumers and leverage Olympic enthusiasm without having to pay the high price. Frank Vial, strategy director of branding agency Landor Associates, argues that in a world that’s moving toward targeted marketing, “maybe the Olympics will have to reinvent itself as something other than a global, monolithic brand.”

Balfour is BusinessWeek’s Asia Correspondent in Hong Kong and Jana is deputy Innovation editor at BusinessWeek. With Jena McGregor in New York

from: businessweek.com

Swimsuits for the Beijing Olympic Games 2008.
A few sexy swimsuits designed for the upcoming Olympics in Beijing.
A Chinese model walks down the runway at a swim wear show, highlighting the 2008 Olympic Games, during the China International Fashion Week in Beijing. The fashion week highlights the work of Chinese designers as Beijing attempts to push itself as a major international fashion center.

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More than 10,000 athletes from over 200 countries will be competing in the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing which is scheduled to begin in August 2008. As the sole official vehicle partner of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Volkswagen Group is supplying the Organisation Committee with a fleet of 5,000 vehicles to transport athletes, officials and VIPs during the Olympic Games.
To support a fleet of this magnitude, Volkswagen will provide a dedicated team of more than 140 technical specialists for daily vehicle checks and professional maintenance. In addition, Volkswagen will appoint more than 40 dealers in Beijing among the Audi, FAW-Volkswagen, Shanghai Volkswagen and Skoda dealers to provide 24/7 maintenance for the official Olympic cars.

Volkswagen Group Olympic Showcasing
In addition to the official Olympic fleet vehicles, Volkswagen will also have a large exhibition area set up in the Beijing Green Common Domain to present the ‘Volkswagen Group Olympic Showcasing’ which will carry the theme of the “Past, Present and Future”. This will feature the hundred year history of the automotive industry, the establishment and development of China’s motoring industry and China’s thirty years of reform. The seven Olympic torches from previous Olympics Games will also be featured to remind visitors of the history of the Olympic Games.
The utilisation of modern and water elements in the design of the Volkswagen Group Olympic Showcasing coincides with that of the “Bird’s Nest” and the “Water Cube” stadiums. The “outdoor” design brings visitors closer to the environment and enables them to experience the harmony between humankind and Mother Nature. The three sites synchronise with each other to form a unity. In the exhibition area, Volkswagen will also set up a 78-metre long screen wall with 9 movable display panels to showcase the competition of the Olympic Games at that particular time.
Among those expected to partake in the experience and delight that comes with the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are distinguished guests and customers of Volkswagen, business partners as well as rewarded outstanding employees from Volkswagen.

Green Olympics
One of the most prominent features of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is its long standing pledge to stage a “Green Olympics”. To endorse this concept Volkswagen will illustrate their achievements in research and development including the evolution of new energy-conserving and environmentally friendly fuels, such as the Sun Fuel technology and other green energy resources.

The Olympic spirit of “faster, higher and stronger” is a long-term pursuit of Volkswagen; in retrospect, the “Green Olympics, High-Tech Olympics and People’s Olympics” concept of the 2008 Olympic Games is closely aligned with the long-term quest and practice of Volkswagen in such fields as environmental protection, sci-tech advancement and social responsibilities.

Volkswagen will endeavor to support the Organisation Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (BOCOG) in its efforts to be an outstanding host during the Olympic Games and spread the Olympic Spirit in China.

source: albawaba.com

The Beijing government has ordered staff in China’s karaoke bars and nightclubs to avoid skimpy clothing, as the authorities prepare to welcome thousands of foreign visitors to the 2008 Olympic Games.

The strict new regulations, posted today on the Ministry of Public Security’s website, are intended to help fight prostitution and drug use.

They state that entertainment venues must have glass windows in the private rooms at clubs “to show the whole area” – and doors must stay unlocked.

All staff at such venues should dress “tastefully” and should not be too exposed, the rules said.

from: telegraph.co.uk

U.S. President George W. Bush will attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in China next month, the White House said on Thursday.
“The president and Mrs. Bush will attend the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympic Games on August 8,” the White House said in a statement announcing Bush’s trip to South Korea, Thailand and China next month.

“He believes he’s going to China to support first and foremost our athletes. He sees this as a sporting competition,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said at a press briefing.

President Bush agreed to go to the Beijing Olympics at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Australia last September during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Bush himself and other senior U.S. officials have said on several occasions that the president will attend the Beijing Olympics and believed the Olympics is not a political event but a chance for athletes to compete at the top of their class, Xinhua news agency said in a report in April.

Saturday’s announcement that the National Stadium has become fully functional marked the completion of all the Beijing Olympic Games’ 37 venues.
Nicknamed the “Bird’s Nest” because of its shape, the venue covers 258,000 sq m of the Olympic Green in the northern part of the capital.
In addition to hosting football and other sports events, it would be the site of the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies.

“We hope we can provide better services for the Olympic Games with better facilities,” National Stadium CEO Li Aiqing said at a ceremony celebrating the venue’s completion on Saturday.
Swiss firm Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, and China Architecture Design & Research Institute, won the international design competition in 2003, and construction began at the end of that year.
It has since become a Beijing icon, attracting photo-snapping crowds every day.
The design’s complexity challenged builders, but they were proud of overcoming all trials.
“The most outstanding feature of the stadium is its beam structure,” chief engineer Li Jiulin said. “The architects imagined several intertwining lines, which we translated into reality with steel and concrete.”
Time magazine earlier this year listed the building – the largest steel structure in the world – atop its “100 Most Influential Designs”.
Prior to its official completion, the 91,000-seat venue underwent two test events in April and May.

from: chinadaily.com.cn