National Stadium's stands installed

Updated:2007-06-07

(BEIJING, June 6) -- The bowl-shaped stands of the National Stadium, dubbed the "Bird's Nest" have been completed recently after an eight-month installation process.

The stands are composed of a total of 14,700 slabs in different size and form, with the biggest piece weighing 18 tons and being 11-meter long. All slabs were prefabricated and two 250-ton cranes were used to lift the slabs for the installation of the upper level stands.

Workers are now focusing on the project's base structures, indoor decoration, membrane structures, siphon drainage system and electromechanical device.

The National Stadium is the main stadium of the 29th Olympic Games. Located at the Olympic Green, it has a floor space of 258,000 sq meters. Its main body is an interwoven structure comprising a series of steel trusses around the bowl-shaped stands. The structural elements support each other and converge into a grid formation, just like a bird's nest with interlocking branches and twigs. The spaces in the skeleton of the stadium will be filled with inflated ETFE cushions. With a seating capacity of 91,000, the stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies, the track and field competitions and the football finals during the 2008 Olympic Games.