Posted by Peter Wayne on August 18, 2008 at 10:00pm
Last night, I attended the track and field events (formally known as ‘athletics’) in the National Stadium also known as the ‘Birds Nest’. The 91,000-person stadium is massive. Just circulating around the structure once is like walking two miles. The open air structure leaves for spectacular views of the Beijing skyline and the Olympic Green Village. The obtuse concrete pillars are architecturally interesting as they form complex web shapes of the stadium. My seat was mid-field, on the 5th of 6 tiers. The enormity of the venue could be felt form this central location. However, it was difficult to feel part of the event itself, as the athletes were just tiny figures view from hundreds of feet away. Two enormous monitors were at either end of the field to see the activity up close, but this was the equivalent of sitting at home in front of the TV. The tactic at this event, as well as others, is to do whatever it takes to get a better seat. The idea is to scope for empty seats up front, then pounce upon them just at the moment the event begins. At one point, I was fortunate to get to ground level, next to a group of rowdy Ethiopian fans. Ethiopia won the men’s 10,000-meter run. To say they were overjoyed is an understatement! More Olympic PhotosRead more…
Posted by Peter Wayne on August 12, 2008 at 11:30am
The new airport in Beijing is as impressive as everyone says. The new terminal 3 is as large as DIA. Beyond the airport, the whole city is Olympics crazed with banners, and signs everywhere. Many people are dressed to the max with Olympic wear. My evening was spent on Tieniman Square. The gate of the square has large Olympic theme diplays. It has become a large gathering place for in and out of towners. Most people were going picture crazy taking photos of friend and family members in front of these various themes. A few Chinese people asked they could have a picture with me. Oddly, I see very few westerners in the Square, which makes me stand out. Getting back to the hotel that night proved to be a bit of a problem. At around 10pm, all the taxi's are occupied. I attempted to share a ride with a couple of guys from Austrialia, but still no cabs. A couple of local university students observed our dilemma, and offered to guide us though the Beijing subway. This was a great boost to navigating the city. Signs are in both Chinese charaters and the English equivalent. Even the recording in the trains are announced in both English and Chinese.Tomorrow morning is the men's bike race, which I hope to attend if not too jet lagged. Til then, see my photos from this evening at 2008 Olympic PhotosRead more…
Posted by Peter Wayne on August 14, 2008 at 7:00pm
Incredibly, there are 30 different venues to house all the Olympic venues. Each is tailored to its' specific sport be it fencing, softball, basketball, etc. Contrary to popular belief, they are not all in the Olympic Village. The venues are scattered mostly in the northern outskirts of the city. It can be quite a challenge getting there, as not even the taxi drivers know exactly where they all are. Fortunately, I was able to snag a special Olympic map at the airport that lays out all the locations. By pointing on the map to the taxi drivers, we get there. However, the areas around the venues are large and no vehicles are allowed within 1 KM. In fact, unless you have a ticket, there is no way you can just stroll around a stadium. I've met a number of American volunteers for the games. They are either ushers at the events or are manning the many information booths throughout the city. Most are students with an Asian background who speak Chinese as their second language. These unpaid volunteers apply about a year before the start date and are selected from a pool of thousands. Today I happened to meet one from my old home state of New Jersey, of all places. Another at a basketball venue was from Baltimore. These English speaking volunteers have been great to unravel some of the confusion on how to get to the venues (ie take subway line X to Y, etc.) Despite the difficulty in navigating, these venues are impressive. Seat position, lighting, venue layout has been well thought out. Getting crowds in and out is very smooth. There are very few 'bad' seats. Finally, I've decided that there is some sort of borderline insanity to all these Olympics. A country spends 4 or 5 years and billions of dollars building stadiums and infrastructure all for just 17 days of intense and tightly scheduled games. It will be interesting to see what Beijing will do with all these venues once the Olympics are done. More Olympic PhotosRead more…
