Designed by a Swiss architecture firm in 2003, the stadium cost about $423million to build and has a capacity of 80 000 people. The design is borne out of the study of Chinese ceramics and the leading Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was the artistic consultant for the project. After the 2008 Olympics, the Bird’s Nest Stadium served as a tourist attraction and plans are afoot to convert parts thereof into a shopping complex. It is easy to become transfixed by the intertwined outer-structure of the stadium.