Construction on the National Stadium, or "Bird's Nest," as it has been nicknamed, has been recently suspended, reports Xinhua. The suspension was announced in order to emphasize the idea of a cost-friendly Olympics in Beijng. Today, BOCOG Vice-Chairman Liu Jingmin declared that pending expert reevaluation and readjustment, the project will immediately resume construction.

At the BOCOG's first press conference in Athens today, Liu Jingming noted that the National Stadium's temporary suspension was necessary in order to promote the concept of a cost-friendly Olympics. The "Bird's Nest" design required remodeling and re-planning. As the adjustments are relatively minor, the new design concepts will not affect the stadium's main functions or overall image. He also assured reporters that the initial budget, an investment of 1.6 to 2 billion yuan for the construction of new venues, will not change.

The construction suspension of the venue represents the BOCOG's desire to adhere to the concept of an economical Olympics. The BOCOG supports the ideas of thriftiness; not building new structures when old ones can be renovated, using temporary rather than permanent setups when possible, and even printing on both sides of a sheet of paper. According to the BOCOG representative, serious consideration has been taken in every aspect of planning for the Games to ensure that funds are not used extravagantly.