Well today was another working day for BOCOG out of the DHQ. With only 2 days left before opening ceremonies, everyone is moving much faster, and today was a longer day, as we had several hot issues we were working, but around dinner time I took a walk through the Olympic Common Domain (OCD) to see what was new, and how busy everyone was. The OCD is going to be closed down to even those with an Accreditation card for the next 48 hours (we think), while opening ceremonies, and other activities take place. There will be close to 70 heads of state from all over the globe attending the opening ceremonies, and security will be much tighter than normal.

Here you can see the stair well and escalator that takes you from the main floor of the OCD down to the entrance for subway line 8 (the Olympic Green line). Subway line 8 is currently open but only for those that have access to the OCD. The bottom of the escalator is also the location of the only restaurant in the OCD, McDonalds. McD's is currently not open but should be soon.

I thought this was a very interesting design, and it's amazing how different each building in the OCD is from each other. Around this same area are several courtyards that are from several of the different providence's around China. When the OCD opens back up to us, I'll try to get some better pictures of those lower courtyards.

Sorry about the quality of this picture, my camera isn't great for night pictures as stabilization is disabled without the flash... This is the NBC broadcast stand where the Morning show, and all of the Olympic first hand news will be presented. You can see that everyone is very hard at work getting this finalized, and they are already setting up video, sounds, and seating. The front of this stand faces birds nest, and potentially the Watercube depending on the camera angle. So if you watch NBC broadcast, you should see the presenters, and they will appear in front of the Birds Nest.

Here is a picture from outside the OCD, and you can see there are large numbers of people that roam the grounds at night taking pictures, riding bikes, and a few nights ago many were flighting kites, playing games, or just hanging around. It's always fun to see everyone out at night. Given the heat during the day, I think everyone enjoy's the cool night breeze after a good dinner.

This is also a great time to get some pictures of the Watercube, and Birds Nest, as they are all lit up. The Watercube actually can display images, such as fish, whales, and text. Periodically on this side of the Watercube you will see those images, or text that states the Olympic saying "One World, One Dream". Watching the fish and whales swim across the side is also quite breath taking.

Around 11pm we ended our shift, walked back to the apartment, which is about half a mile away, and crashed.

-Chris