On 16th October, Liu Jingmin, Vice Chairman of Education, Science, Culture, Public Health and Sports Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Executive Vice Chairman of BODA, was interviewed jointly by the Special Issue on 10th Anniversary of the Water Cube and the Outlook Weekly.

Focusing on planning and construction of the Water Cube, Liu reviewed the construction and completion of Olympic venues after overcoming several difficulties and innovative explorations under the leadership of the Party and the State and with support of all Chinese, and highly appreciated the post-games utilization of Olympic venues, especially Water Cube and Bird’s Nest.

For 5 years after the Beijing Olympic Games, with learning from international mature experience, focusing on reutilizing Olympic venues and facilities for citizens’ fitness and urban cultural & sports undertakings, Beijing has developed conference & exhibition industry and cultural & creative industry, made beneficial explorations in post-games utilization of Olympic venues, and realized good social and economic returns. For example, the Bird’s Nest had received 20 million person-times of tourists accumulatively to the end of October, 2012; many international and high-level sports competitions, large-scale cultural events, and mass sports & cultural activities like the Italian Super Cup, Turandot in Bird’s Nest, took place there one after another and totaled 81 events. The Bird’s Nest makes both ends meet. After post-games reconstruction, the Water Cube had witnessed over 400 large cultural & sports activities and developed 700 plus franchised goods as of end of 2012; It receives over 2 million person-times of home and abroad tourists on average each year, reaches over RMB 100 million turnovers for two consecutive years, and breaks even. Mr. Rogge highly appraised the Water Cube, and thought it best-equipped Olympic venue with most openness and highest operating effects. Moreover, such Olympic venues as Beijing Wukesong Sports Center, Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park and other stadiums in universities have also been reconstructed and improved to provide better sports & cultural services for the public.

Liu Jingmin stated when outlooking the Olympic legacy, that the Olympic Common Domain after the Beijing 2008 Olympics is becoming an Olympic cultural heritage landscaped area; Beijing should, in compliance with market rules, combine Olympic culture and tourism in order to continuingly expand utilization of Olympic venues replying on these rich Olympic resources, orienting itself to benefiting the mass and proving social services.