New Olympic Venues

Beijing National Stadium

Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron collaborated with ArupSport and China Architecture Design & Research Group to design the stadium, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies, the track and field competitions and the soccer tournament. Nicknamed the "Bird's Nest," the 93,000-seat arena was built with 36 kilometers of unwrapped steel weighing 45,000 tons.

Beijing National Aquatics Center

Also known as the "Water Cube," the Aquatics Center will accommodate 17,000 fans for the swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming competitions. The outer structure is a steel frame filled with more than 100,000 square meters of ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene), a plastic which reduces energy costs by allowing increased light and heat penetration.

Beijing National Indoor Stadium

The Beijing National Indoor Stadium seats 19,000 fans and will host the artistic gymnastics, trampoline and handball competitions.

Wukesong Indoor Stadium

The indoor arena slated to host the Olympic basketball tournament is part of a larger athletic complex, including baseball fields and other commercial facilities.

Olympic Green Tennis Centre

Featuring 10 competition courts and six training courts, the Olympic Green Tennis Center will accommodate 17,400 spectators.

Laoshan Velodrome

The state-of-the-art Laoshan Velodrome has a capacity of 6,000 spectators and a 250-meter oval shaped surface for the track cycling events.

Beijing Shooting Range Hall

With a seating capacity of 9,000, the Beijing Shooting Range Hall will host the qualifications and finals of the 10-, 25-, and 50-meter range shooting events. The first gold medal of the 2008 Summer Olympics will likely be awarded here.

Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park

The Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park seats 37,000 spectators and will host the rowing, canoeing, kayaking and 10-kilometer marathon swimming events.

China Agricultural University Gymnasium

Located on the campus of China Agricultural University in Beijing, the 8,200-seat gymnasium will host the wrestling competitions.

Peking University Gymnasium

The table tennis competition will be held in the sparkling new 8,000-seat gymnasium on the campus of Peking University.

Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium

Seating 7,500 fans, the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium will host the badminton and rhythmic gymnastics competitions.

Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium

The judo and taekwando competitions will take place at the recently completed Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium.