Media centers gear up for services

More than 3,800 journalists are expected to convene in Beijing between Aug 22 and 30 to cover the World Athletics Championships. In preparation for their arrival, organizers put media centers for the tournament into service on Saturday.

Two media centers will provide services to both domestic and foreign journalists to help them cover the championships, according to the organizing committee.

The main media center, with a capacity of 918 journalists, is on the first floor of the National Stadium in Beijing. It includes three newsrooms and one room for photographers.

Services including power outlets, Internet connection and free Wi-Fi connections will be provided at the main media center.

The main media center is equipped with 60 desktop computers with Chinese and English operating systems. There are also 600 machines that will provide live updates on all the sporting events.

A press conference room on the ground floor of the National Stadium, near elevator No 8, has seating capacity for 260 people and a double-floor camera platform with a Chinese-English simultaneous interpretation system.

The main media center will be open between 9 am and 8 pm from Aug 15 to 19, from 9 am to midnight on Aug 20, day and night from Aug 21 to 30, and will close at 4 pm on Aug 31.

An auxiliary media center, in the National Jade Hotel, will provide services including free Wi-Fi, with 30 desks with power and Internet connections for reporters.

Bulletins at the auxiliary media center will help reporters check the names of athletes, competition scores and other information.

The auxiliary media center will be open from 10 am to 10 pm on Aug 17 and Aug 18 and from 9 am to midnight on Aug 19. Between Aug 21 and 30 it will be open 24 hours and on Aug 31 it will open from midnight to 4 pm.

More than 6 billion people are expected to watch TV broadcasts of the upcoming events, according to the organizing committee.

China Daily