The Bird's Nest | |
Exterior view of the stadium at night, overlooking the Dragon Shaped Water System, July 2011
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Full name | National Stadium |
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Location | Beijing, China |
Executive suites | 140 |
Capacity | 80,000 91,000 (2008 Olympics) |
Record attendance | 89,102 (Nigeria–Argentina, 23 August 2008) |
Surface | Grass, All-weather running track |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 24 December 2003 |
Built | September 2007 |
Opened | 28 June 2008 |
Construction cost |
yuan ¥2,9 billion USD $ 423 million ($471 million in 2014 dollars) EUR € 399 million (In 2014) |
Architect |
Herzog & de Meuron ArupSport China Architectural Design & Research Group Ai Weiwei (Artistic consultant) |
Structural engineer | Arup |
Tenants | |
China national football team (occasional) China national basketball team (2009–2010) |
Beijing National Stadium | |||||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 北京国家体育场 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 北京國家體育場 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 鸟巢 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 鳥巢 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | Bird's Nest | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Transcriptions | |
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Standard Mandarin | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Běijīng Guójiā Tǐyùchǎng |
Wade–Giles | Pěichīng Kwóchiā T'ǐyǜch'ǎng |
Yale Romanization | Běijīng Gwójyā Tǐyùchǎng |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Yale Romanization | Bàk gìng Gwok gà Tái yuhk chèuhng |
Jyutping | Bak1ging1 Gwok3gaa1 Tai2juk6coeng4 |
Southern Min | |
Hokkien POJ | Pak-kiaⁿ Kok-ka Thái-io̍k-tiûⁿ |
Transcriptions | |
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Standard Mandarin | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Niǎo Cháo |
Wade–Giles | Niǎo Ch'áo |
Yale Romanization | Nyǎu Cháu |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Yale Romanization | Níuh Chàauh |
Jyutping | Niu5 Caau4 |
Southern Min | |
Hokkien POJ | Chiáu Châu |
Beijing National Stadium, officially the National Stadium (Chinese: 国家体育场; pinyin: guójiā tǐyùchǎng), also known as the Bird's Nest (鸟巢; niǎocháo), is a stadium in Beijing. The stadium (BNS) was a joint venture among architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of Herzog & de Meuron, project architect Stefan Marbach, artist Ai Weiwei, and CADG which was led by chief architect Li Xinggang. The stadium was designed for use throughout the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics and will be used again in the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The stadium is currently mostly unused, after having been unsuccessfully suggested as the permanent headquarters of the Beijing soccer team.
Located at the Olympic Green, the stadium cost US$428 million. The design was awarded to a submission from the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron in April 2003 after a bidding process that included 13 final submissions. The design, which originated from the study of Chinese ceramics, implemented steel beams in order to hide supports for the retractable roof; giving the stadium the appearance of a bird's nest. Leading Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was the artistic consultant on the project. The retractable roof was later removed from the design after inspiring the stadium's most recognizable aspect. Ground was broken on 24 December 2003 and the stadium officially opened on 28 June 2008. A shopping mall and a hotel are planned to be constructed to increase use of the stadium, which has had trouble attracting events, football and otherwise, after the Olympics.