August 18 – Organizers of the 2015 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Beijing announced here today that they will restrict the 80,000-capacity Bird’s Nest stadium to 54,000 for the event, and that they are confident they will have full crowds. Shen Chunde, vice-president of the Chinese Athletic Association (CAA), explained that only the lower and middle tiers of the Bird’s Nest Stadium, with respective capacities of 30,000 and 24,000, would be used for the Championships, which are due to be held from August 29 until September 6 following consultation of likely weather patterns. “If there are more spectators coming we will open the seats on the third level,” he said. The third tier has a capacity of 27,000. Chunde added: “If there are 50,000 spectators coming to see the Championships it’s a very good result for us.” more
