Bird's Nest never too much for Beijing: IOC member

BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Huge international stadiums like the Olympic venue Bird's Nest will never bee too much for big cities like Beijing, a senior International Olympic Committee said here on Friday.

Kevin Gosper, chairman of the IOC press commission, said a big city needs international stadiums of high quality and capacity in case of big events.

"For a city this size, in a country this size. A capital city not to have international venues of this quality and capacity of the Bird's Nest would be totally unacceptable and if you look at all capital cities with big venues, they are not using them very regularly but they are there for big events," said the Australian who is here for the first anniversary of the Beijing Olympic Games which opened on Aug. 8, 2008.

The steel-woven national stadium Bird's Nest, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies as well as athletics events in last year's Olympic Games, became a tourist attraction rather than fulfilling its sporting purpose in the past year.

The 100,000-capacity stadium has received up to 30,000 tourists each day in the past year with a revenue of 210 million yuan. The state-of-art aquatic center Water Cube standing opposite the Bird's Nest was pretty much the same, already seeing 2.26 million tourists with a total income of 80 million yuan, according to the Olympic Park operating team.

Gosper said he was all right to see the Olympic stadiums turned up to be tourist attractions.

"As far as tourist attraction concerned, I don’t know any sporting structure which is so fascinating. People are coming in here, particularly Chinese nationals all over china. They are to see the Olympic Green, the Bird's Nest, the Water Cube right alongside going to the great wall. I am glad," he said.

These expensive Olympic venues, however, will not remain tourist attractions forever as the Beijing Games organizers had planned post-Games utilization long before the Olympics.

Two concerts have been held in the Bird's Nest and opera Turandot directed by Beijing Games opening ceremony director Zhang Yimou will be at the center stage Saturday. A motor racing event will follow later this year.

The Italian Super Cup on Saturday will be the first sport event landing on the Bird's Nest after the Games.

Gosper said people have to be patient before these large stadiums are regularly used as he took 2000 Olympics host city Sydney as an example.

"We took about three to four years in Sydney... One year after Beijing Games, I am not surprised there is not overwhelming use of the Bird's Nest," he said.

Rebuilding plans have been put forward as a commercial center with restaurants and recreational centers will be set up around the Bird's Nest, according to Zhang Hengli, vice-president of the National Stadium Company that now runs the Bird's Nest.

The Water Cube is also to be reconstructed for variable uses. Movie theaters, restaurants and aquatic park will be added before 2010.