294 lines
7.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
294 lines
7.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sport
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othersports
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olympics
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2518877
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-----
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# Beijing Olympics: The Bird's Nest stadium
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![Beijing's Olympic Stadium: The Bird's Nest][1]
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35,000 fireworks will be launched from 1,800 sites around the city for the
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opening ceremony Photo: GETTY IMAGES
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By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter 8:15PM BST 07 Aug 2008
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[Comments][2]
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**The mythology:**
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The spectacular Bird's Nest stadium, hailed as the finest arena in the world
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and the centrepiece of the most expensive Olympics in history, is full of
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hidden symbolism.
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In Chinese mythology, the sun is represented by a circle and the moon by a
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square, reflected by the shape of the bird's nest and the Water Cube aquatic
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centre opposite, reinforced when the venues are lit at night, red for the
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Bird's Nest and blue for the Water Cube.
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The shapes also echo the Chinese symbols for male and female, and are built
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either side of the north-south axis road which runs in a perfect straight line
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for three miles through Beijing, centred on the Forbidden City.
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**The design: **
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## Related Articles
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* [Beijing Olympics opens with spectacular ceremony][3]
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08 Aug 2008
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* [Beijing Olympics opens with dazzling ceremony][4]
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08 Aug 2008
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* [Bush calls on China to improve human rights record][5]
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07 Aug 2008
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* [Five to watch: Star athletes to watch in Beijing][6]
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07 Aug 2008
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* [Beijing Olympics: Team GB unveil new uniform][7]
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07 Aug 2008
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* [China holds its breath for opening ceremony][8]
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07 Aug 2008
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Designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, the stadium has a
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revolutionary design, which was chosen at the end of a six month long
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international competition.
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Itcomprises an outer skeleton of 42,000 tons of steel, making it three times
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as heavy as the proposed London 2012 stadium, and an inner 'skin' of double-
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layered plastic which keeps out wind and rain and filters out UVA light.
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It is designed to last for 100 years and withstand a force eight magnitude
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earthquake.
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Architectural critics have said the National Stadium, to use its official
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name, sets standards of construction which may not be surpassed for decades.
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Until they designed the Bird's Nest, Herzog & de Meuron were best known for
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converting London's Bankside power station into Tate Modern and for designing
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the tyre-shaped Allianz Arena in Munich for the 2006 World Cup.
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**The cost and the controversy:**
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The £250 million arena represents just a fraction of the £20 billion spent on
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venues and infrastructure in the run-up to the Games - more than double the
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budget for London 2012.
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However, the stadium has been dogged by controversy, as 6,000 homes were
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demolished to make way for it and there were claims that 10 people died in
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accidents during the four years it has taken to build, though the Chinese
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government said there were two deaths.
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Construction was also halted following the collapse of a terminal building at
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Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport, which shared some architectural elements,
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and the design was altered.
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**The facilities: **
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The 91,000-seater venue has a four-star hotel with 80 rooms under one of its
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sides, a gourmet restaurant with views of the athletics track, and a twin-
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level underground shopping centre.
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Its architects also claim it is one of the most environmentally-friendly
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stadiums in the world, as undersoil geothermal pipes help heat indoor parts of
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stadium in winter and rainwater is collected and stored in underground
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cisterns for irrigation and to flush lavatories.
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**TV coverage of the opening ceremony: **
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Coverage on BBC One 12.45 to 4.45pm, highlights at 7pm
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[X][9] Share & bookmark
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][10]
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* Share: [Share][9] [ ][11] [ ][12]
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[Tweet][13]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2518877/Beijing-
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Olympics-The-Birds-Nest-stadium.html
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Telegraph
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## [Olympics][14]
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* ### [News »][15]
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* ### [World News »][16]
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* ### [Asia »][17]
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* ### [China »][18]
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* ### [Sport »][19]
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IN SPORT
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[![Olympic Stadium - London 2012 Olympics competition schedule][20]][21]
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### [London 2012 interactive schedule][21]
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[![Sir Chris Hoy - London 2012 Olympics tickets guide][22]][23]
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### [London 2012 tickets Q&A][23]
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[![Sir Steve Redgrave][24]][25]
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### [Olympics email: sign up][25]
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[X][9] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][10]
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Share:
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* [ ][9]
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* [ ][11]
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* [ ][12]
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* [Tweet][13]
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* OLYMPIC IMAGES
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Latest images from the Olympics and the London 2012 Games.
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Advertisement
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![][26]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][27] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][28]
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[![London 2012 Olympics][29]][14]
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Advertisement
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## [THE OLYMPICS BLOG »][30]
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[ ![Simon Hart][31] ][32]
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** [Simon Hart][32] **
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* [Tax rules are depriving UK fans of Usain Bolt preview][32]
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[ ![][33] ][34]
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** [Jacquelin Magnay][34] **
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* [My Hay Festival speech on ethics in sporting events][34]
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[ ![Tanni Grey-Thompson][35] ][36]
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** [Tanni-Grey Thompson][36] **
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* [Paralympic World Cup can help London 2012 be catalyst for success][36]
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Olympic features
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[![London 2012 Olympics: 20 questions with Nicole Cooke][37]][38]
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### [20 Questions][38]
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Team GB road cyclist **Nicole Cooke **talks to Telegraph Sport
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### [Olympics countdown][39]
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[![][40]][39]
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**426 days to go**
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> Theodosius II ordered the destruction of all Greek temples in AD 426. <p>
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### [Send us your view on the Olympics][41]
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sponsored features
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Loading
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Olympic experts and guides
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### [Olympic Columnists][42]
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[**Steven Redgrave**][43]
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> <a href="http:/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/columnists
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/chris-hoy/">**Chris Hoy**** **
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> <a href="http:/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/jamescracknell/">**James
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Cracknell**
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> <a href="http:/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/columnists
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/tanni-grey-thompson/">**Tanni Grey-Thompson**
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> <a href="http:/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/sailing/ben-
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ainslie/">**Ben Ainslie**
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* [**Cultural Olympiad**][44]
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* [**Olympics Business**][45]
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### [Daily London 2012 Olympics countdown][39]
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[LONDON 2012 Sport Guides »][46]
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### [Olympics sport-by-sport guide][14]
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* [Archery][47] | [Athletics][48] | [Badminton][49]
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* [Basketball][50] | [Boxing][51] | [Canoe Sprint][52]
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* [Canoe Slalom][53] | [BMX Cycling][54] | [Mountain Bike][55]
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* [Road Cycling][56] | [Track Cycling][57] | [Diving][58]
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* [Equestrianism][59] | [Fencing][60] | [Football][61]
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* [Rhythmic Gymnastics][62] | [Artistic][63] | [Trampoline][64]
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* [Handball][65] | [Hockey][66] | [Judo][67]
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* [Modern Pentathlon][68] | [Rowing][69] | [Sailing][70] | [Shooting][71]
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* [Synchronised Swimming][72] | [Swimming][73]
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* [Table Tennis][74] | [Taekwondo][75] | [Tennis][76]
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* [Triathlon][77] | [Indoor Volleyball][78] | [Beach Volleyball][79]
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* [Water Polo][80] | [Weightlifting][81] | [Wrestling][82]
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Advertisement
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Classified Advertising
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* [Culture][83]
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* [Cars][84]
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* [Shopping][85]
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var puffs_8120678 = new Array();
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