The Beijing National Stadium, officially known as the National Stadium is a stadium located in Beijing, China. It was built specifically to host the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Designed as a nest of a bird, the stadium is also known as Bird’s Nest.
The design was originated from the study of Chinese ceramics and it implemented steel beams in order to hide supports for the retractable roof, giving the stadium the appearance of a bird’s nest.
The stadium was originally designed to accommodate about 100,000 people. However, the capacity was reduced by 9000 to simplify the design. The capacity of the stadium was further brought down to 80,000 when 11,000 temporary seats were shaved off from the total of 91,000.
History
The construction of the stadium started in 2003, and took about four years to complete. It completed in the year 2007, and the inauguration of the stadium took place in 2008.
The cost to build the stadium was $428 million and is considered as one of the best stadiums in the world.
Major Matches
The opening ceremony and the closing ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics was hosted in the Beijing National Stadium on 8th and 24th August respectively. It also hosted athletic events and football final of the quadrennial event.
After the Olympics, the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Paralympics was also hosted in this stadium on 6th September and it also hosted athletic events followed by the closing ceremony on 17th September.
In 2009, this stadium hosted the Supercoppa Italiana or the Italian Super Cup final. In August 2011 and in 2012, the Bird's Nest once again hosted the Supercoppa Italiana.
Arsenal and Manchester City played each other in the inaugural China Cup on 27 July 2012.
Beijing National Stadium also hosted the matches during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the China PR national football team.
Other Sports Events
The stadium is scheduled to host the opening and the closing ceremonies of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Beijing National Stadium would be the only stadium to host the opening ceremonies of the Paralympics and the Summer and Winter Olympics.
