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Bird's Nest snow festival to woo winter sports fans

The Bird's Nest may have been built for last year's Summer Games but Beijing's stunning Olympic stadium will soon be targeting fans of winter sports.

China has entered the winter. Some time ago, there was big snow in Beijing.The Bird's Nest may have been built for last year's Summer Games but Beijing's stunning Olympic stadium will soon be targeting fans of winter sports.
    As temperatures have begun to drop in recent weeks, so too has the number of visitors to the 80,000-seater venue, which cost 3.6 billion Yuan ($527 million) to build.
    And, fearing another harsh winter, National Stadium Co Ltd, which owns the Bird's Nest, yesterday unveiled ambitious plans to spend 50 million Yuan on a spectacular "snow festival". 　
    From Dec 19 2009, visitors will be able to pay 120 Yuan to enjoy skiing and snowboarding, among other things, on its newly constructed slopes.
    The stadium owners expect to attract more than 20,000 visitors a day - twice as many as it currently does - during the two-month festival, which will include countdown events for both the Western and Chinese new years.
    Officials revealed it would take just 5,000 visitors a day to cover the costs of the project.
    "It's not a bad idea. You can ski on man-made snow in Dubai, so why not here?" said Heiko Grasse, a tourist from Munich, Germany, Nov. 29 2009.
    Famous outdoor equipment makers and local brands are in talks over sponsorship for the event, the Bird's Nest owners said (Nov. 29 2009), while the capital's television network will also provide 500 hours of coverage.
    "The Bird's Nest will not have a cold winter again," Wu Jingjun, the new president of National Stadium Co Ltd, told China Daily Nov. 28 2009. "We will create seasonal events almost every month from now on with assistance from the government and, importantly, the public."
    Yang Cheng, a newly appointed vice-president of National Stadium Co Ltd, said the snow festival would run for five consecutive winters if successful.
    The Beijing municipal government took a controlling stake in National Stadium Co Ltd last August in a bid to boost profitability.
    Despite the fact that work to build new luxury diners and arcades has been put on hold, as well as a controversial move to sell the venue's naming rights by CITIC Investment Holdings, the company that used to hold a controlling stake, sports industry analysts say a State-controlled company would help the venue get more permits to host profitable events such as the snow festival.
    Before the switch, CITIC made 260 million yuan from their post-Games operations, with 70 percent generated by tours given to about 8 million visitors since last October. But as tourist numbers have dropped from 50,000 to just 10,000 a day, the stadium is desperately in need of a new commercial mechanism.
    Wei Jizhong, a senior consultant to the Beijing Olympic organizers and chairman of China Sports Industry Co, said it seems operators have finally found the right commercial model for sustainable development.
"The public, abnormally the growing average class, will acquisition the abstraction of accepting a skiing amphitheater in city Beijing innovative. I would accede this a success if the State-run owners can bang a balance, or even angel a little," Wei told China Daily.
In an official account appear on its website endure week, National Stadium Co Ltd said the area would seek "more non-profit amusing benefits" while "hosting top-level events".
In the latest bid to addition popularity, the aggregation is aswell alms 40,000 yuan to the champ of a all-around attack to baddest a new amulet and logo for the landmark.
The Bird's Nest was afresh accustomed a blooming ablaze by the government to host a affable soccer bout involving Spanish giants Real Madrid next August. The accord followed the account that the Race of Champions will abide to be staged at the area for at atomic two added years.
"To sustain advance in the future, the Bird's Nest should actualize a abiding enactment agnate to the Super Bowl in the United States," said Wei.

Now,Bird's Nest snow festival is open, have a tour to Beijing! Beijing Birde's nest Travel

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