By Liam Morgan |
A series of events and performances have been held at a celebration to mark the 10-year anniversary of the start of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The event was held on the Olympic Park in the Chinese capital and at venues used during the 2008 Games, including the Water Cube Aquatics Center and the Bird’s Nest National Stadium.
It took place just days after pictures emerged showing the decaying state of some of the facilities from the Games 10 years ago.
The photos depicted rotting wood at the beach volleyball venue, while statues of the mascots were seen lying broken and abandoned.
Overgrown trees and weeds were found at the Beijing 2008 BMX track, with the whitewater kayaking stadium also showing signs of disrepair.
The Water Cube and Bird’s Nest have become popular tourist attractions since the conclusion of Beijing 2008, however.
The National Stadium played host to the 2015 International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships and will also host the Opening and Closing Ceremony when Beijing stages the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
The Bird’s Nest will also feature at Beijing 2022 as it will be transformed into the venue for curling.
An exhibition has been opened at the National Stadium, entitled “From 2008 to 2022, Olympic Spirit in Motion”, to commemorate the 10-year anniversary since the 2008 Olympics began on August 8.
One of the four sections of the exhibition is dedicated to “importance of after-competition use of the stadiums”, with another focusing on the 2022 Games in the Chinese capital.
Beijing’s Olympic legacy from hosting the 2008 Summer Games is also documented, along with a section entitled “Exhibition of the Olympic Culture.”
It is free to the public and includes photos, documents, videos and interactive installations.
More than 3,000 people also gathered in the Olympic Park to take part in table tennis, badminton, football, basketball and popular Chinese folk sports like jianzi – where players aim to keep a heavily weighted shuttlecock in the air by using their bodies, apart from the hands.
During the event, Beijing 2022 launched their worldwide mascot design competition, with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach urging people to get involved.
Republished with permission from insidethegames.biz.