Water Cube embodies Green Olympics concept

(BEIJING, Dec. 26) -- The National Aquatics Center, or the "Water Cube," fully represents the concept of "Green Olympics," in terms of architecture, outside layer engineering, environmental protection in the areas of material, energy and water resources as well as the indoor environmental quality, according to a BOCOG official.

The project is featured by the reasonable and efficient application of clean energies, said Yu Xiaoxuan, deputy director of the Venue and Environment Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

The "Water Cube" absorbs solar radiation and reduces thermal loss, guarantees the incoming of most of the sunlight which serves as the thermal source of swimming pool water, Yu said in a recent interview with the press.

The maximum use of natural ventilation and lighting features the environmental design of the project's outside surface, to ensure temperature and humidity control in different sections of the swimming pool and provision of comfortable indoor environment for athletes and spectators, Yu added.

He said the architects skillfully took water use into consideration, ensuring the maximum and efficient utilization and recycle of water and protection of its quality and environment. The advanced water treatment system enables the water quality to meet the national standard and the rigid standards of International Amateur Swimming Federation (FINA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to Yu, guided by the concept of sustainable development, constructors choose innovative energy-saving materials and products to reduce inside and outside pollution.

The realization of "green Olympics" in the "Water Cube" project set a good example for other Olympic venues and the construction of Beijing's urban projects, Yu believed.

The project uses the state-of-the-art ETFE material which is light but very strong. The blue bubbles outside the National Aquatics Center comprise over 3,000 air cushions, which look like an entirety but actually they are relatively independent from each other, providing convenience for replacement of individual cushions when needed.

The swimming pool is 13 meters deep, which can reduce the interference of water temperature variation, according to project manager Sun Hongzhuang. The temperature of swimming pool is projected to be kept at 28 degrees Celsius, the best suitable for swimmers, Sun said.

During the Olympic Games, the venue can sit 17,000 spectators. "We've made lots of personalized treatment to let the spectators at every corner to see athletes' performance," said Sun.

Register for Beijing Olympics ticket

The line has begun to form for tickets to the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

The website, www.tickets.beijing2008.cn has opened to register for the tickets.

The actual sales begin next month, and a random draw will be used for the most popular events, officials said.

The initial ticket sales are limited to domestic public only. The first phase of sales will continue until June, and tickets will not be delivered until June 2008.

Beijing Organizing Committee officials said the most expensive ticket would be $646 for the Aug. 8 opening ceremony.

Organizers plan to sell about seven million tickets, and have promised to make tickets affordable. Prices for competition events will begin at $3.90 and top out at $130. About 58 percent of the tickets will cost $12.75 or less.

According to the website, tickets of opening and closing ceremony, diving and Artistic Gymnastics are of greatest demands.

Olympic Venues

Olympic Green is where 50% of the competition venues will be found in 2008, and is located at the north end of the central axis of Beijing City. A forest park, a central area including competition venues, Olympic Village, the Main Press Center (MPC), and the International Broadcasting Center (IBC) and so on for Olympic Games can be found at Olympic Green. There will be several subway stations to connect the Olympic Green and the downtown area. Besides, people can also choose buses, taxis or to drive to Olympic Green.

Altogether 31 venues will be used in Beijing during the 29th Olympiad. Most of them have already been completed, though some are still under construction. An additional six cities, namely Hong Kong, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shenyang and Tianjin, will also co-operate with Beijing to run the Equestrian, Sailing and the Football Preliminaries.

National Stadium, which is nicknamed the Bird's Nest because of the unique design, is located at Olympic Green and covers an area of 258,000 square meters (about 63.8 acres). Designed by the famous Swiss architect Herzog & DeMeuron and China Architecture Design Institute, the construction started in December, 2003 and will have a capacity of 100,000 upon completion. Besides the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, this grand and modern stadium will host Athletics and Football during the Games. This Stadium will be the stage for both national and international sporting events, as well as cultural and entertainment activities after the Olympics. The glittering National Aquatics Center, namely 'H2O3', is another highlight of Olympic Green. It covers an area of more than 65,000 square meters (about 16.1 acres) and have a capacity of 17,000 during the Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, and Synchronized Swimming events. The center has been donated by many Chinese and Chinese associations from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the rest of the world.

Olympic is everywhere in Beijing

Beijing 2008 Olympic mascot badge（picture）

	1 kg gold
China Gold Coin Corporation [Color 】 -- China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation [5Kg/1Kg
	Tenth ounce gold
Gold Coin Corporation [Color] [Color of the note-issuing countries -- China Ting
	1 ounce silver color sets
Gold Coin Corporation Chinese banknotes States tripod
	80 mm Bronze
Gold Coin Corporation Chinese banknotes States tripod

Beijing 2008 Olympic mascot badgeadge

2008 Beijing Olympic Games mascots badge" by the China Gold Coin Corporation November 12, 2005 In the country.
Beijing inception of the China Gold Coin Distribution Center sold Shenzhen Guobao mint Ltd., Shanghai Mint Casting this badge total of seven specifications, including 1 kg color gold one gold and one tenth ounce of color gold medallion five gold, 1 g color gold badge five; 1 kg color silver one gold and one ounce of color silver and six 80-mm copper Chapter 1 missiles, 38 mm color Silver Bronze six. Face design standards for the 29th Olympic mascot design, and published "to mark the 29th Olympic Games mascot" in Chinese or English words; The reverse shows the emblem of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and sports portfolio design (no badge back pictorial). The medals for the Beijing 2008 Olympic licensed merchandise, incorporated in the China Gold Coin Corporation forged identification certificates and licensed Olympic merchandise.
2008 Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, China, the Chinese nation's dream Olympics, the Beijing Olympic Games mascots are displayed on the fine Chinese culture, but also documented history of the Beijing Olympics, the major carriers contractors. The previous Olympic Games mascots as image ambassadors to promote the Olympic idea, popularize the Olympic knowledge and carry forward the Olympic spirit has a very important role in many aspects. The badge issued to fully display the Olympic mascot of the live image, and further promote the Olympic spirit of the driver left imprinted.
The badge is the first time that China has issued the Olympic mascot badge of great significance to the commemoration and a high value for collection.

BEIJING 2008: BOCOG Releases Ticket Prices

29 November 2006

The Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad – Beijing 2008 (BOCOG) has released the ticket prices for the Beijing Games, priced so as to ensure local spectators have the chance to see the Games first hand. With 58% of all tickets for sale priced at or lower than RMB 100 and about 14% of tickets reserved for Chinese students, large Chinese crowds are likely to join the international spectators to enjoy this, the first Games in their country. Tickets will become available in China in the first half of 2007 and more details will be communicated at that time. (For more information click here: http://en.beijing2008.com/90/98/article212059890.shtml )

Prices

According to the figures released by BOCOG today, the prices for sports sessions will range between RMB 30 and RMB 1,000. For preliminary sessions, the tickets will sell for between RMB 30 and RMB 300, while for the finals, the range will be RMB 60 to RMB 1,000. The lowest priced ticket for the Opening Ceremony will be RMB 200, while the highest priced ticket will be RMB 5,000. The lowest price for the Closing Ceremony will be RMB 150, and the highest will be RMB 3,000.

BalanceCommenting on BOCOG’s ticket prices, the IOC, which had encouraged BOCOG to find a pricing programme in line with the local market and who approved the plans, said, “The IOC is very pleased that BOCOG has found an affordable ticketing programme which will maximise the opportunity for the Chinese public to enjoy the Games, whilst balancing with interest from the international community.”

Beijing 2008

The Games of the XXIX Olympiad – Beijing 2008 will take place from 8 August 2008 until 24 August 2008. The Games in Beijing will play host to the 28 summer sports currently on the Olympic programme. Approximately 10,500 athletes are expected to participate in the Games, with around 20,000 accredited media bringing the Games to the world.

Green Olympics dream coming true

Beijing is on its way to realizing its dream of staging a "Green Olympics" by succeeding in disposing of 90 percent of its urban sewage in the proper manner before schedule.

To date more than half of the treated wastewater, or 360 million cubic meters, has been reused both in the agricultural and industrial sectors, especially in cooling towers of power plants.

Beijing Water Authority chief Jiao Zhizhong said yesterday: "We are confident that Beijing's water environment would reach, or even surpass, Olympic standards before the 2008 Olympic Games begin."

Beijing will increase its urban wastewater treatment rate to 92 or 93 percent this year by completing five more wastewater treatment plants in some urban as well as suburban areas, Jiao said.

New technologies will be introduced to improve the quality of the disposed wastewater because the authority's goal is to increase the volume of recycled water being used to 480 million cubic meters, or one-tenth of the city's water supply.

Also, the official said, more than 2.16 million rural residents, or 65 percent of the capital's total rural population, had access to safe drinking water by the end of 2006.

"Another 300,000 rural residents will have access to safe drinking water within this year."

And as part of the authority's "Green Games" efforts, Jiao promised to clean all the canals, moats and lakes within the Sixth Ring Road, too.

"This year we will ensure that the clean ones stay clean and continue treating the rest, including the lower reaches of Qinghe River near the main venue."

Beijing follows standard ecological norms while cleaning its rivers and lakes. "We don't change the natural course of rivers and ensure that their diverse plant and animal life is not disturbed,"

But despite all the authority's efforts Beijing still suffers from acute water shortage.

"Among the methods we've adopted to solve the problem are strict water resources protection and management, search for new water sources, minimizing waste and a rationed supply policy."

Eighty percent urban homes in Beijing have installed water-saving equipment; 332 water-saving technologies have been applied in industries; water-shaving cropland has increased to 20,000 hectares and 300 rainwater-recycling projects have been set up. All this, he said, shows "Beijing is doing remarkably well in reducing water consumption".

By the time the Olympics open next year, Beijing would already have started getting 300 million cubic meters of water a year from four reservoirs in neighboring Hebei Province.

And by 2010, the city would get another 1 billion cubic meters of water from the Yangtze River.