An Olympic culture exhibition opened in Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium on Wednesday to mark the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, as well as celebrating the 10th National Fitness Day.

The exhibition, with the theme "From 2008 to 2022, Olympic Spirt in Motion," features four exhibitions, including "Stadiums, Past and Future" from the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Inheriting the Beijing Olympic Legacy Exhibition, Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games Special Exhibition, and Olympic Culture Exhibition.

During the opening ceremony at the Bird's Nest, IOC President Thomas Bach delivered his speech via video, stressing that the Olympic Games are indissolubly bound up with the life and culture of the city that hosts them, and most essentially to a building embodying the event in a unique way: the Olympic stadium. 

"It's not only a major architectural achievement that serves as a stage …. it also establishes a connection between sport and its urban surroundings, helping renew neighborhoods and opening up future avenues of development," he said.

Through the holding of the exhibition, Beijing, as the first host city of both the summer and winter Olympics, aims to promote its rich experience of hosting international events and the development of the Olympic legacy.

Wu Xiaonan, vice president of Beijing State-owned Assets Management Company (BSAM) and chairman of Beijing National Speed Skating Oval Operation Co., Ltd. said: "Since the inception of venues construction, we have worked with a vision of sustainable development and maximizing the social benefits for the public." 

"In the next step, we will step up preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympics, and call on more people to participate in winter sports."

To support the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, BSAM undertook the construction project of the Bird's Nest (main stadium), the Water Cube (for swimming and diving events) and other Olympic venues. 

Since the Summer Olympics, it has been actively exploring ways to make full use of the Olympic legacy by holding international competitions and performances, in a bid to better spread the spirit of the Olympics and support the sustainable development of sport.

Wu also said that the National Speed Skating Oval, which will host the speed skating competitions during the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter games, will be a fitting addition to the architectural legacy of the Olympics.

The culture exhibition will run until Sept. 22, and is free to the public.

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