White Elephant’s Nest?

The National Stadium in Beijing, China, nicknamed the Bird’s Nest, will be converted to a shopping and entertainment complex over the next three to five years by the state-owned investment company CITIC group, according to China’s Xinhua news agency.

Reports say the stadium, built as the main venue for the 2008 Summer Olympics, has already turned into a white elephant and fallen into disuse. Six months after the close of the games, the paint is already peeling.

The only visitors to the structure are Chinese tourists who pay a fee to tour the huge structure and buy knick-knacks in its souvenir shop.

As of the end of January, only one event is scheduled for the Bird’s Nest this year: a production of the opera “Turandot.”
It seems highly unlikely that the stadium’s $450 million cost will ever be recouped.