The interior view of the National Aquatics Center

(BEIJING, January 29) -- The newly inaugurated National Aquatics Center, commonly known as the "Water Cube," is preparing for the forthcoming Good Luck Beijing 2008 Swimming China Open and the 16th FINA Diving World Cup.

The Good Luck Beijing 2008 Swimming China Open will be held from January 31 to February 5. As of Tuesday morning, 376 people, including 234 athletes and 142 officials from 36 countries, have applied for the event. Competitive players from Brazil, Germany, Hungary, Sweden and China will take part in the event, while the United States, Australia, Great Britain, France and Canada will send inspectors to the Water Cube.

The 16th FINA Diving World Cup is scheduled for February 19-25. It is organized by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) and is part of the Beijing 2008 Olympic diving qualifications. A total of 310 divers, 218 coaches and officials, and 42 international-level referees from 54 countries will participate in the event.

Chinese star divers, including Guo Jingjing, Wu Minxia and Wang Feng, and Russian veteran Dimitry Sautin will compete at the Water Cube.

The Water Cube is the main venue for the 2008 Beijing Olympic aquatics events and a landmark competition venue. Its construction area is close to 80,000 square meters, and it contains 17,000 standard seats, including 6,000 permanent seats and 11,000 temporary ones. It cost more than one billion yuan to build. During the 2008 Olympic Games, it will produce 42 gold medals in swimming, diving and synchronized swimming.