Bird's Nest Stadium: Now What After Beijing Olympics?

At $423 million, the stadium was built for one-tenth the cost that it would have cost to be built in the West.

....The new total of 91,000 would be shaved further when 11,000 temporary seats were removed after the 2008 Olympics; bringing the stadium's capacity to 80,000.

The 91,000-seat National Stadium has not hosted an event since the Olympics, functioning instead as a cavernous museum visited each day by thousands of Chinese tourists eager to view the site of Zhang Yimou’s dazzling opening ceremony and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt’s three world records.

A symbol of China’s rising power and confidence, some doubt the stadium will ever recoup the US$450-million the government spent to build it, particularly as China’s economic woes continue. Maintenance alone amounts to 60 million yuan ($10.9 million) a year, although management says an ambitious plan to attract events may help recoup construction costs within 30 years.

  For years, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall have been among the biggest tourist attractions in China. These days, the Bird's Nest is giving them a run for their money.

Nine months after the Beijing Summer Olympics, thousands of tourists from all over the country flock to the iconic stadium, venue of the dazzling Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, every day.

They pay the 50 yuan ($7) entrance fee to sit in the stands, get their picture taken on the central green and watch nothing.

  Hong Kong movie icon Jackie Chan performed a singing concert along with many other pop stars in Bird's Nest stadium Friday, the first day of China's May Day holiday.

    "Descendants of the Dragon: Jackie Chan and Friends" started at7 p.m. and became the first large-scale concert held in the stadium after last year's Olympic Games.

    The stadium was closed at noon and nearly 1,000 security guards were deployed around the site.

    "Crowds of people began to enter the stadium via X-ray doors around 6 p.m. and they look eager," said Liu Shunli, a police officer working at one of the entrance.

    Ticket prices ranged between 100 yuan (14.6 U.S. dollars) to 1,680 yuan.

    Chan had said that he would spare no effort to perform well and put on a spectacular concert.

    The concert ended at 9:30 p.m., lasting two and a half hours.

    Chan, a movie actor most famous for its martial arts comedies, has also dabbled in singing and sang with other stars at both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.

 ...The Bird's Nest has received 3.08 million visitors so far.

The 55-year-old "Rush Hour" star (Jackie Chan) told a business forum last month that freedom may not be a good thing for authoritarian mainland China. Critics called his comments an insult to the Chinese people.

Chan's spokesman, Solon So, later said Chan's comments were taken out of context and that the actor was referring to freedom in the entertainment industry and not Chinese society at large.

There were no signs of protests as Chan took the stage Friday at the site of the Beijing Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies, with the 91,000-capacity stadium about three-quarters full as the concert got under way.

Chan told the crowd that organizers sold 70,000 tickets. The controversy over Chan's remarks was widely reported in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but largely ignored in mainland China.

Chan sang the patriotic song "Descendants of the Dragon." Other performers included Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jonathan Lee and Hong Kong's Emil Chau, Alan Tam, Joey Yung and Hacken Lee.

In January 2009, the venue's owners announced the stadium would be turned into a shopping and entertainment complex in three to five years. The venue costs approximately $9 million to maintain per year. Due to a lack of use, paint is already peeling in some areas; plans call for the $450 million stadium to anchor a complex of shops and entertainment outlets in three to five years is being developed by operator Citic Group. The company will also continue to develop tourism as a major draw for the stadium, while seeking sports and entertainment events.