Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre

The Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre is located on Fushan Bay, just a short bus ride or 20-minute walk from the centre of Qingdao city. The venue was formerly the Beihai Shipyard, which has been relocated to Haixi Bay in the Huangdao District of Qingdao at the cost of over US $230 million. Together with the construction work, this brought the total cost of the project to US $436 million, although all of this investment is set to be recouped through plans to utilize the venue after the Games.

ISAF President Goran Petersson was certainly impressed on his visit to the 2007 test event, calling the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre, 'the best venue I have ever seen for an Olympic sailing event'.

'Spectacular' was the adjective Hein Verbruggen, Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing Games, chose to describe the venue.

The Layout

The Olympic Sailing Centre site covers total area of 138,000 sq m. The principle buildings on the site are the Qingdao Olympic Village, Athletes Centre, Administration Centre, Media Centre and Logistics Centre.

The Olympic Village, Athlete and Administration Centre are clustered close together at the north of the venue. The 30,500 sq m boat park separates them from the Media Centre, which is situated at the south of the venue, on the near end of the 534m long breakwater. The Breakwater provides a high-capacity and well-sighted viewing area.

The Logistics Centre is located on the east of the venue, whilst the Olympic Memorial Dock, where the Olympic Torch was located, is to the west.

Administration Centre

The Administration Centre with an overall floor space of 16,800 sq m hosted the key personnel responsible for running the regatta, including the ITO offices and lounge, competition management, protest hearing rooms and administrative and security offices. After the Games, it became the National Navigation School and Aquatics Sports Training Centre.

Qingdao Olympic Village

The 91,000 sq m Qingdao Olympic Village adjoins the Athlete Centre. The village hosted the athletes competing in the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition and became a five-star hotel following the Games.

Athlete Centre

The 16,600 sq m Athlete Centre was the International Zone of the Qingdao Olympic Village and a part of the competition area. After the Games the Athlete Centre became a museum celebrating and commemorating the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition, as well as a recreation centre.

Media Centre

The 8,100 sq m Media Centre included the Media Tower overlooking Fushan Bay and one of the most spectacular features of the venue. The Media Centre became a yacht club following the Games.

Photo Gallery

Take a closer look at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre in our photo gallery below.