THE Bird's Nest Olympic stadium in Beijing has hardly been used for sports events since the August Games, while just a corner of the Water Cubic aquatic centre has become a public swimming pool.
One year on, white elephant syndrome lingers in China's capital as it ponders what to do with buildings that were intended overwhelmingly to make a dramatic impression during the short span of just two weeks in August last year.
'For China, the venues were about being the host of a key moment of global prestige that transcended economics,' said Seth Grossman, managing director for Eastern China of Carat, a media communications agency.
'It was a desire to welcome the world to a first-class experience that befits the Olympics and, as such, the venues had to reflect the prestige of the state, not just the local municipality of Beijing.'
Even if the venues were never designed with an eye to their long-term benefits, they are now taking up valuable Beijing real estate, triggering speculation about what to do with these monuments to the city's Olympic glory.
The 80,000-seat Bird's Nest is crowded with sightseers every day, but an Italian Super Cup match on Saturday will be the first big sports event there since the Olympic flame was put out on August 24 last year.
The reason that the Bird's Nest is not being used any more frequently is a wish among Beijing officials to reserve it for prestigious events. Local football is out of the question. 'The big issue is size. Anything less than 80,000 attendees will make the park seem empty,' said Greg Paull, the head of R3, a Beijing-based media consultancy.
The Water Cube also sees a huge daily stream of visitors who walk down rows of hot dog stands and vendors of mineral water, and a training pool is open to visitors willing to pay a little extra, but big events are rare here, too.
China feels a need to be picky about future events, too, because they cannot be seen to debase the symbolic value the venues have, especially in the minds of the Chinese.
'The concern (of the Chinese authorities) is that the Olympic venues sustain the successful image of the Beijing Games,' said Paul Renner, president of Helios Partners China, a sports marketing consulting firm. 'In other words, they want to ensure that the events staged there maintain a positive and successful image.' -- AFP.
How about Singapore, why is our National Stadium taking such a long time to construct? Are the authorities worried that it will become an white elephant too?
For Ur Information; We did a Mass farewell for National Stadium on 22 Jun 2007.
