Instantly recognizable, the National Stadium in Beijing is more commonly known as the Bird's Nest – a nod to the complex latticework of 36 kilometers of steel that form the exterior and roof of the stadium. Inspired by the Chinese philosophy of yin yang, the stadium incorporates balance and harmony throughout its design.
Originally built as the main venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Bird’s Nest also hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. To date, it's the only stadium in the world to have hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for both the Summer and Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
With a maximum capacity of 91,000 spectators – 80,000 permanent seats and the ability to add a further 11,000 if needed – it’s the largest stadium in China and the world's largest steel structure. Today, the venue regularly plays hosts to large scale events, such as sports competitions and concerts. In recent years, between December and February, it transforms into the Ice and Snow Festival – a winter theme park with ice sulptures, ice skating, and a man-made slope for skiing.
"We’ve worked with The National Stadium team from the beginning," says Erhu Wu, our Existing Installations Manager in Beijing. "We supplied 16 Schindler 9300 escalators to the stadium, which have helped move millions of visitors since the stadium opened in 2008."
The Bird’s Nest is more than just a stadium – it’s a landmark in its own right. Set in the Beijing Olympic Park, the stadium was designed by the Swiss architecture team Herzog & de Meuron, with the idea of creating a public area that people could visit, meet with friends, and enjoy leisure activities.
It’s proven to be an extremely popular concept, with thousands of people visiting the venue daily – even on days when there’s no event going on in the stadium.
On any given day – even when no events are taking place – a team of Schindler technicians can be found on-site, says Hailiang Shui, who supervises this project.
"They're split into two maintenance teams who work on shifts to ensure we always have a team available – 24 hours every day, even if there's no event," he says.
During large events, we have a significantly larger team on-site to make sure everything runs smoothly.
"During the 2008 Olympics we had a service team of 175 team members looking after the stadium to ensure uninterrupted mobility during the Games," Hailiang explains. This included four dedicated maintenance teams of 10 people each, on-site at all times, a team of 12 expert engineers available just in case of any major issues, a spare parts delivery team on call 24 hours a day, and a management team coordinating between internal and external government departments.
"There was so much daily traffic during the event that there was no room for mistakes," explains Erhu. "We’re proud to have been part of the Games and to have been able to provide the level of service that we did."
During the Winter Olympics in 2022, a team of 59 were on hand to support the opening and closing ceremonies – including a maintenance team of 48 people working on-site to keep everything moving without a hitch.
It’s a level of service our team is proud of.
"The stadium is a modern-day landmark not just for Beijing but for the whole of China, so it’s important for us to always provide an excellent quality of service," says Erhu. "No matter the size of the event, our team always delivers."