On the evening of August 30, 2019, the Opening Ceremony of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 was grandly held at Beijing National Aquatics Center affiliated to BSAM. The Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony and announced the curtain-up of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.

The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 is the highest-level international basketball tournament hosted by China for the first time. As the designated venue for the foreign affairs meeting, opening ceremony and theatrical performance of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, Beijing National Aquatics Center undertakes the task of venue preparation and on-site support. Under the guidance of BSAM, Beijing National Aquatics Center Task Force firmly establishes “Four Consciousnesses”, regards this assigned duty as the primary political task, and achieves pursuit for perfection and absolute readiness. All relevant support departments and personnel meticulously do a good job in every link, every procedure, every movement and every detail of the preparatory works and service guarantees. In accordance with the highest standards, they go all out to provide various service guarantees to ensure a complete success of this event.

Breaking through creativity limitations—“Basketball Show” is staged in swimming complex

Swimming and basketball are originally two completely different sports so that it is difficult for people to associate them with each other. However, with the arrival of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, the functional versatility of Beijing National Aquatics Center once again goes beyond the people’s imagination. In order to achieve this transformation, Beijing National Aquatics Center Task Force conducts a lot of adjustments in terms of site infrastructure, image and scenery layout.

Based on the renovation project of curling venue for the Winter Olympics, the structural change in Competition Hall of Beijing National Aquatics Center lays infrastructure foundation for the successful holding of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019: The original rippling swimming pool just converted into what was needed for the ceremonies at the end of July 2019. On this basis, the stage and seating facilities required for the opening ceremony are quickly completed.

In order to endow the spectators with a multi-dimensional and immersive basketball environment experience, Beijing National Aquatics Center has made great efforts in landscape transformation. The team stresses VIP streamline and spectator streamline as the priority of environmental construction, designs image, scenery and frame based on the main vision of the Basketball World Cup, breaks through the original visual limitations of the swimming venues, and ensures that guests can feel the vibrant atmosphere of Basketball World Cup from every perspective when entering the venue, watching the opening ceremony show and finally leaving the venue.

Competition Hall of Beijing National Aquatics Center has a span of 120 meters. The team actively cooperates with the performance stage design team to give full play to the advantages of space and height. A huge basketry with a diameter of 27 meters and a height of 17 meters, dedicated to the stage, has been created.

By means of polyhedral space grid structure of the roofing, a two-storeyed frame of more than 600 square meters is made for basket show, and 19 lighting truss beams are equipped with more than 1,000 lamps. According to statistics, the entire competition hall is hung with a total of more than 160 hanging points. The total hanging weight reaches more than 50 tons.

On the basis of the deck and the main structure of spectator stand in competition hall, main basic stage, the wire-supported frame, spectator seats and other facilities are built, with a total load of more than 700 tons.

The spectator stand structure of the competition hall is adopted, which provides 11 main ropeways and 14 counterweighted tie-up ropeways for carrying performers, props, and stage designs on the wires. The total tensile force of these wires is estimated to reach more than 30 tons.

Beijing National Aquatics Center Task Force takes into account the space requirements of different entities and utilizes the flexible and diverse site spaces of the venue. Through reasonable planning and partial reconstruction and adjustment, applicable sites are provided for foreign affairs meetings, theatrical performances, backstage preparations, spectator seats, on-site scheduling and work, etc.

Breaking through functional limitations—professional teams escort error-free activities

The opening ceremony of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 implies a heavy responsibility for service guarantees, but it is pressed for preparation time. As a subsidiary of BSAM, Beijing National Aquatics Center has a wonderful team dedicated to fulfilling service guarantee tasks for major national events, such as the Olympic Games and APEC Dinner Party, and gains rich experience in event preparation. Despite tight time and heavy task, Beijing National Aquatics Center immediately establishes a special service guarantee body, chooses the professionals to efficiently carry out the synergy with related departments, actively tries to find solutions, collects feedback information without delay, and plan for the work in advance.   

During this event, Beijing National Aquatics Center is responsible for providing service guarantees in various professional fields, such as structure, fire protection, air quality and power supply. Beijing National Aquatics Center Task Force develops work plans and achieves synergy in different professional fields, arranges for 12 service groups, and strives to provide services and supports for the opening ceremony activities, makes every effort to highlight the key points, refine the work and fulfill guarantee responsibilities, and ensures the absolute success of the whole opening ceremony.

Power Supply Guarantee

Basket show of this opening ceremony demands power supply of 1,800KW. To this end, Power Team of Beijing National Aquatics Center specially compiles Power Supply Guarantee Plan for Opening Ceremony and Performance of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, works closely with the power authorities, and lays 8,800 meters of 240mm single-core cables, thereby giving reliable and uninterrupted power supply guarantee for lighting, large screen, audio, wire, stage machinery and other aspects. Moreover, two 1000KW power generator cars are in place as emergency backup power supply. On the day of the opening ceremony, the power team also dispatches special personnel to be on duty at key locations throughout the day, which ensures the safe operation of the power system during the opening ceremony.

Fire Safety Guarantee

Ensuring public safety is of paramount importance. The fire protection team of Beijing National Aquatics Center makes careful preliminary preparations for the safety of this event, specially invites the experts from the fire safety authorities to give professional instructions on the fire safety of the venue, allows the venue performance designer institutes to conduct a special fire safety assessment for the event. According to expert advice and assessment report, the fire protection team of Beijing National Aquatics Center formulates a fire safety guarantee plan, and invites the event organizing committee, the fire department, the emergency management bureau, the sports bureau and other superior authorities to demonstrate the fire safety guarantee plan, and strives to provide targeted fire safety guarantee based on the demonstration results.

Ensuring public safety is of paramount importance. The fire protection team of Beijing National Aquatics Center makes careful preliminary preparations for the safety of this event, specially invites the experts from the fire safety authorities to give professional instructions on the fire safety of the venue, allows the venue performance designer institutes to conduct a special fire safety assessment for the event. According to expert advice and assessment report, the fire protection team of Beijing National Aquatics Center formulates a fire safety guarantee plan, and invites the event organizing committee, the fire department, the emergency management bureau, the sports bureau and other superior authorities to demonstrate the fire safety guarantee plan, and strives to provide targeted fire safety guarantee based on the demonstration results.

On the day of the opening ceremony, Yue Peng (Secretary of the CPC BSAM Committee and Chairman of BSAM), Zhi Jun (President of BSAM) and Wu Xiaonan (Vice President of BSAM) make on-site command and arrangement at the headquarters of Beijing National Aquatics Center.

From AM 5 on the day of the opening ceremony to the early morning of the following day, all members of Beijing National Aquatics Center Task Force take on their duties, plunge into the high-intensity continuous work, and succeed in comprehensive control and safe and stable operation of various links and key elements, such as building structure and facilities, power supply, HVAC, water supply and drainage, heating power, fuel gas, LED landscape lighting, environmental sanitation and venue service.

BSAM contributes to service guarantees for major national-level foreign affairs events and important cultural exchange events for many years. As a municipal-level state-owned enterprise, BSAM has the courage to take responsibilities, and has successfully fulfilled service guarantee tasks of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, celebrations for the 50th and 60th Anniversary of the founding of the PRC, the APEC Summit Beijing 2014, the IAAF World Athletics Championships 2015, Asian Cultural Carnival 2019 of Conference on Asian Civilization Dialogue and other large-scale events, which is widely praised by all walks of life. Setting sail again and embarking on a new journey, BSAM and its affiliates will be well poised to major national-level events with service guarantees under higher standards and at higher levels, and unveil a new look in the new era.