Anxious Olympic organisers are bracing for the worst for their plans which have been three years in the making and threatens not just the opening ceremony in Beijing but sailing and equestrian events on the coast and Hong Kong respectively.
In a rare Olympic cost-cutting decision, the Chinese dropped plans for a retractable roof on the US$500million National Olympic stadium, dubbed the "Bird's Nest, which means that the 91,000 capacity crowd, athletes and the opening gala's 10,000 performers will be exposed to the elements. The spectacular fireworks could also be affected by bad weather.
Despite deliberately scheduling the Games to open on the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008 due to eight being considered a lucky number in China, Mother Nature seems at odds with the hosts.
As well as a stormy night in Beijing, typhoons are also forecast for Hong Kong where the Olympic equestrian events will be held. The unsettled conditions were also predicted to extend to the Qingdao coastline where the sailing events are scheduled for.
Ok, maybe I am a bit naieve, but if they are spending 11 million or something like that for this opening ceremony, and spent 500 million for the stadium, and being a country subject to heavy rain and typhoons, it would almost be a no-brainer to add a retractable roof to this facility.....but, oh, I forgot, the government said THERE WILL BE NO RAIN! I see, I guess it is just banned for the duration of the event, just like so many other things in China. Oh yes, and then there is the smog problem...they are trying to do their best to hide it, but it keeps popping back up again. Oh yes, and terrorists have vowed to disrupt things as well, but the government said they are prepared with 100,000 police to handle that little problem, SO...let the games begin and let the best man, woman, or rain cloud win!!!
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