According to the Beijing Municipal Planning Commission (BMPC) and the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG), architects from all over the world are allowed to put forward their designs for the National Stadium, which will be used for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as track and field event.

"Before bidding for the main stadium, we firstly need a architectural blueprint. That's why we hold the contest." said the BMPC deputy director Huang Yan.

The stadium is planned to set 80,000 permanent seats as well as about 20,000 temporary ones. It will also have a retractable roof, which follows the goals of being "the high-tech, green and people's Olympics".

"The stadium is supposed to cost about three billion RMB (US$370 million)," said Liu Zhi, the deputy director of the BMPC.

The two-stage contest will officially begin on Tuesday as the organizers set up a Web site for designers to register, where they could download all the information about it.

About 10 finalists will be chosen to participate in the second stage. However, the time has not been set yet.

A multi-billion-dollar program is under way to build 14 new stadiums and gymnasiums for Olympic competitors, add 500 kilometers (310 miles) to the city's expressways and almost double the length of subway lines.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2002)