Tianjin, a venue for soccer competition at the 2008 Olympic Games, is to begin construction of the Olympic stadium early next month, officials said.

The scheme designed by Japan's AXS architecture company has been selected as the layout of the Olympic stadium, a official with the Tianjin Municipal Sports Administration told Xinhua on Tuesday.

The stadium, covering a floor area of 78,000 square meters, has a capacity of 60,000 seats.

Tianjin, along with Qinhuangdao, Shenyang and Shanghai, will host part of soccer competition during the Beijing Games, while Qingdao, a coastal city in east China, stages sailing events in 2008.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2003)