Who doesn’t remember that f’n awesome opening ceremony from Beijing in 2008?
Photo Credit: EPA
Fireworks both real and fake.
Photo Credit: Artists In Motion
A giant, rolling and eventually floating LED screen…
And the drums….
Photo Credit: Olympic Ceremony Database
We’ll never forget the drums…
Or that water cube.
Photo Credit: Charlie Fong
But, what happened after the games ended?
Well, when it comes to the water cube, a lot of things have happened.
They held a lot of events there right after the games, but it went dormant for a while before they renovated it into a water park that opened in 2010.
Photo Credit: Lara Farrar /CNN
This photo from 2012 seems to imply that it might not have stayed quite so pristine.
Photo Credit: REUTERS/David Gray
Though they do intend to use the cube for curling events when Beijing hosts the Winter Olympics in 2022.
Photo Credit: CCTV5
The old beach volleyball stadium hasn’t fared as well as the water cube.
Photo Credit: REUTERS/David Gray
And, the white water course remains drained, waiting for nature to take it back.
Photo Credit: REUTERS/David Gray
I don’t know how they could re-purpose either of those for the winter games.
This used to be the entrance to the baseball field.
Photo Credit: REUTERS/David Gray
Now it’s just a field with various stuff from the games strewn about.
Photo Credit: REUTERS/David Gray
