Olympic venue to transform within 17 hours

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(BEIJING, Jan. 7) -- National Indoor Stadium (NIS) will serve as the venue for gymnastics, trampoline and handball during the Olympics. An intense schedule requires the working staff to transform NIS into the venue for handball within 17 hours after the close of the gymnastics events. It is the first time in Olympic history that a gymnastics venue is to be converted to one for handball.

On January 6, a rehearsal of the venue transformation was held. At 9:18 a.m., the transformation began with the installation of floor covering. In order to hasten the speed, 50 staff members formed two task groups. At 10:25, far ahead of the planned schedule, all the floor covering was successfully installed. The ensuing transformation work lasted until the afternoon.

This rehearsal was carried out under the assumption that all the equipment was already disassembled. According to the plan, a complete rehearsal of venue transformation will take place in May. As the working staff suggested, disassembly would take the majority of the time. The work includes disassembly of all the gymnastics apparatuses, including three platforms and five sets of competition equipment.

In order to complete the task, 17 hours will be divided into several units, with 10 minutes each. A detailed plan and schedule will be provided for each unit to ensure a successful transformation.