Olympic aquatic centre faces safety problems on its opening day

On the day of its opening, Beijing’s Olympic aquatics centre is already facing safety problems.

The £72m venue’s official unveiling was overshadowed today by the discovery of a crack in one of the diving platforms.

The centre will be put to the test this Thursday as the country stages the China Open Swimming competition.

The venue, also known as the Water Cube, is wrapped in over 100,000 sq m of ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene) plastic, which melts at 275°C.

Construction of the 17,000 capacity arena consumed 6,700 tonnes of steel and 1,300 tonnes of welding rods.

Topics