Fine Dining Comes to the Bird’s Nest?

The latest installment in the ongoing quest to cover the exorbitant costs of the Bird’s Nest’s upkeep will see a new 4,500-sqm restaurant open this month on the third floor of the stadium, according to China Daily. It is still unclear whether diners will need to pay the RMB 50 stadium admission to get into the new establishment.

The restaurant will feature – you guessed it – an Olympic theme, and be decorated with uniforms and memorabilia from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Games. The menu will primarily feature Chinese cuisine, with “some foreign dishes available.”

This is the latest in a string of initiatives designed to attract visitors to the famous stadium – readers may recall last winter’s “Happy Snow Land,” that saw the structure briefly converted into a rather underwhelming ski run.

The Bird’s Nest costs almost RMB 200,000 a day to maintain, and with sporting events requiring an 80,000-seat venue in short supply, the stadium has been hemorrhaging qian ever since the Olympics. According to the China Daily article, “a hotel, cinema and live performances” are all “on the cards” for the famous landmark.