The Beijing State-owned Assets Management Co., Ltd. (BSAM) has announced its plans for the 2008 Olympic venues.

The National Stadium, located in the Olympic Green, will cover a plot area about 204,000 sqaure metres. The venue will have a floor area of 258,000 square metres with an initial capacity of 100,000 seats. During the 2008 Olympics Games, the National Stadium is designated to host the opening and closing ceremony, the track and field competition, men's soccer final and other events.

After the 2008 Olympics, the National Stadium will become a large-scale venue providing sports, leisure and entertainment.

The design of the National Stadium, the Bird's Nest, was conceived by a consortium led by Herzog and de Meuron Architekten AG (Switzerland) including ARUP Sports (UK) and China Architecture Design & Research Group. BSAM and the CITIC Consortium jointly established the National Stadium Co., Ltd, which is responsible for the funding, construction, operation and management of the venue.

The National Swimming Center, also located in the Olympic Green, will cover a plot area of 62,950 square metres. The venue will have a floor space of 80,000 square metres and an initial capacity of 17,000 seats.

The design of the National Swimming Center, the Water Cube, was conceived by a consortium led by China State Construction Engineering Corporation including Australia's PTW Architects and OVE ARUP. The National Swimming Center will host the swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming competitions and other events for the 2008 Olympic Games.

After the Olympics, the centre will be converted into a large-scale multifunctional aquatic sports centre.