Bird’s Nest Tour (Beijing National Stadium, Beijing Olympic Park)

The Beijing National Stadium / 北京国家体育场 / 北京國家體育場 or Bird's Nest / 鸟巢 / 鳥巢 is located at the Olympic Green and cost US$428 million to build. The design was awarded to a submission from the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron in April 2003 after a bidding process that included 13 final submissions. The design, which originated from the study of Chinese ceramics, implemented steel beams in order to hide supports for the retractable roof; giving the stadium the appearance of a bird's nest. Leading Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was the artistic consultant on the project. The retractable roof was later removed from the design after inspiring the stadium's most recognizable aspect. Ground was broken on 24 December 2003 and the stadium officially opened on 28 June 2008. A shopping mall and a hotel are planned to be constructed to increase use of the stadium, which has had trouble attracting events, football and otherwise, after the Olympics.

The stadium's design originally called for a capacity of 100,000 people; however 9,000 were removed during a simplification of the design. The new total of 91,000 was shaved further when 11,000 temporary seats were removed after the 2008 Olympics; bringing the stadium's capacity to 80,000.

The stadium will be used for the opening and closing ceremonies of 2022 Winter Olympics. It will be the only stadium to date to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics and Paralympics opening ceremonies.

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