Workers are making finishing touches on three giant television screens built inside a park by the Beijing West Railway Station, adding more entertainment to soccer fans in the Chinese capital during the World Cup finals.
The super-size TV screens are to be set up in the Lianhua (Lotus Flower) Park, with the largest being 25 square meters in surface area.The two others are identical in surface area, 20 square meters each. Such auxiliary facilities as audio equipment, a performance stage and sun shield are being placed around.
Around the large TV screen will be a central venue with an area of 10,000 square meters to host some 5,400 spectators. It will provide live broadcast of the soccer games, for a World Cup party during the May 31-june 30 tournament co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. Together with the two other venues, the three could host a total of some 8,000 people, providing them with TV broadcast, song and dance performance and lottery series.
To secure safety for the crowd, the party's organizers decided to limit the total number of spectators at 10,000. The sites are to be open from 12 hours till 23 hours daily during the World Cup Finals. Ticket booking has just began, according to the organizers.
(eastday.com May 29, 2002)