后奥运时代，"鸟巢"会通过举办一系列高水平的文体活动，继续成为中国体育和文化的标志性场馆，体现"鸟巢"所代表的中国品质。
The proper use of sport venues in post-Olympic period
The Olympic Park in Beijing has been a popular tourist destination during the three-day May Day holiday. Millions of tourists have visited the National Olympic Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest and the National Aquatics Center, or the Water Cube, and have participated in various Olympic-themed activities. But what will become of the Olympic venues in the future? Our reporter Xiao Hong has more.
According to the organization committee of the Beijing Olympic Park, about 250 thousand people visitied the park just on the single day of May 1.
Many visitors say they are satisfied with paying about 100 yuan, or no more than 15 US dollars, each to enter all the venues in the Olympic Park.
"I think it's very worthwhile to spend about 100 RMB visiting here. All these venues give me a totally different feeling from what I have seen on TV. They're great."
About three million visitors have toured the Bird's Nest since the Olympic Park opened to the public last October. Ticket revenue has reached 150 million yuan, or about 22 million U.S. dolllars.
About 1.7 million people visited the Water Cube with more than 50 million yuan in revenue.
Hong Kong movie icon Jackie Chan performed a singing concert in the Bird's Nest Friday night, the first large-scale concert held in the stadium after last year's Olympic Games. And about 4,000 amateur singers were singing in chorus in the Water Cube Saturday night.
But now operators are trying to decide how to use the sport venues in the future.
Zhang Hengli is vice manager of the company that oversees the operation of the Bird's Nest.
"We can't only depend on people's enthusiasm for the Olympic Games to operate the stadium. It will not last long. What we need to do is infuse more cultural significance and organize more interesting activities to attract visitors."
Zhang introduced that apart from the carnival which is being held in the Olympic Park, they are planning to set up a base of Cultural and Creative Industries in October.
Liu Tie, president of the company that operates the carnival, says the event offers many exciting recreational facilities and various Olympic-themed activities.
"Because our park is located right beside the Bird's Nest, most of our activities are Olympic-oriented. We hope visitors can relive the splendid moments of the Beijing Olympic Games by participating in these activities."
The Bird's Nest has become a city landmark and a hot spot for celebrity shows and international competitions.
Park operators say they also plan to hold cultural activities once a month.
Wang Chun, an official from the park organization committee, says the park still has potential for further development because the grounds and buildings were well laid out during construction.
"The park still has enough space for further construction. We still have spare space for about two million square meters of construction. And all this will further boost economic development in the region."
WHO: Pork Products Are Safe to eat
Meanwhile, the WHO says pork products are safe to eat.
The declaration came a day after Canadian officials said pigs on a farm in Alberta were infected with the swine flu virus.
Agency food safety expert, Dr. Peter Ben Embarek.
"So from the consumer point of view there is absolutely no risk of consuming cooked products and therefore we say that trading meat, for example, whether processed or raw or frozen meat should not be restricted because there is virtually no risk of transmission that way."
He says studies have shown flu viruses, are usually killed during processing and by the heat during cooking.
He also says the cases of swine flu in pigs in Alberta are not surprising, and could be expected from a virus like this.
He says a farm worker, who recently arrived from Mexico, has infected 200 pigs at a farm in Alberta.
Iranian Presidential Candidate Would Work with US
An Iranian presidential candidate who led Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards says he will be willing to cooperate with the US on security matters if elected.
Conservative candidate Mohsen Rezae made the remarks when addressing in a news conference in Tehran.
"I am in favour of neither retreat nor adventurism. The United States needs us and we should use the need of the US to increase national interests from the position of strength. We will never write letters to a US president which he wouldn't answer. We will ensure that letters we write to world leaders will be answered and will secure our interests."
57-year-old Rezaei is one of the four main candidates in the June 12 vote.
