With its bubble-clad exterior that pulsates in a myriad of colors at night, the Water Cube in the heart of Beijing's Olympic Green has been one of the most fascinating facets of the 2008 Summer Games for me.
So you can imagine my delight when I finally got the chance to enter the dreamlike venue this Spring Festival, when the aquatics center that hosted the Olympic swimming and diving events opened to the public with an orchestra and musical fountain performance.
Sitting on the sides of the swimming and diving pools under rows of the world's national flags, I could visualize US swimmer Michael Phelps roaring in victory as he collected his eight golds and Chinese diver Guo Jingjing mesmerizing the audience with her perfect mid-air pirouettes off the springboard.
For many residents and visitors in the capital, iconic Games venues and structures such as the Bird's Nest and Water Cube form a vital link to the collective memory of the historic hosting of the grandest sporting event by the world's largest developing country.
More than 1 million visitors thronged Beijing's central Olympic park decked out in auspicious red during this year's weeklong Spring Festival holiday alone.
It is also balancing the need to retain the appeal of the Olympic venues with the use of public space and viable commercial concerns that continues to pose the greatest challenge and uncertainty to the future of these places.
Beyond the musical fountains, the pools of the Water Cube are poised for extended public use by the year end, with plans that include an artificial beach and other recreational facilities.
Similarly, there are already renewed calls to turn the Bird's Nest national stadium into a shopping and entertainment complex in the next few years, complementing its draw as a major tourist destination of the capital and as a host of future sporting and entertainment events.
The 91,000-seat stadium cost more than $400 million to construct and needs nearly $9 million for annual structural maintenance to keep it standing.
The Wukesong Indoor Stadium is getting a more certain future. It is slated to become the National Basketball Association's (NBA) first facility in the country that will host NBA China basketball games.
The neighboring Wukesong baseball field, which hosted the baseball events during the Games, is said to be facing the wrecking ball instead.
Consider all 12 venues that were newly constructed for the Games and the challenge of putting these facilities to good use looms larger than ever.
From entrance fees to active use, debate on the function of such costly Olympic venues post-Games has been rife from the start. One thing is certain: The public wants, and deserves, a stake in determining the fate of these venues since its support will be decisive in their successful use.
Deciding on the function and identity of public spaces and facilities with the help of public forum is not new.
As early as 2005, Beijing authorities started soliciting public feedback to label the stations along at least two new subway lines, a move that helped name more than 20 stations which stakeholders felt reflected more accurately the identity of the affected areas.
In the case of the use of Games venues, a similar online forum set up by the authorities for people to pick the most popular options might also work.
I, for one, am still attracted to selling the naming rights of the venues to corporate sponsors to help pay for maintenance, generate revenue and keep the memory of the Beijing Olympics open and alive.
Any more takers out there?
E-mail: alexishooi@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily February 6, 2009)