Wrangle over temporary roof for press stand at Olympic Stadium resolved
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The lengthy dispute over the erection of a temporary roof to cover the heads of media representatives attending the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in the Olympic Stadium later this year has been resolved. Planning permission has been granted for a roof to cover part of the South Curve of the stadium, leading away from the landmark 72-metre Stadium Tower.
The World Championships will be held in August, and the temporary structure can be in place until October 31st this year.
Built of steel with a corrugated element roof, the structure covers approximately 1,400 square metres, extendeding southwards from the main stand.
The City of Helsinki's Building Committee approved permission to build the roof on Tuesday, and construction will begin already on Thursday of this week.
The area underneath the roof, designed to house around a thousand press, TV, and radio representatives, will be fitted out with desks only later, after Finland's footballers have played their World Cup 2006 qualifying match against Holland on June 8th.
The Building Committee also issued a statement strongly denying that it had dragged its feet on the issue.
The Olympic Stadium is a listed building and any alterations - even temporary - that could be seen to have an adverse impact on the architectonic whole have met with protests.
The initial decision to build a roof over the back straight of the venue also met with some opposition, although in this case it was more about the spending of money on a sporting event when Helsinki was strapped for cash in areas such as libraries and health care.
This permanent roof is now nearing completion, and will benefit spectators already at the June encounter with Holland.
The World Championships will be held in August, and the temporary structure can be in place until October 31st this year.
Built of steel with a corrugated element roof, the structure covers approximately 1,400 square metres, extendeding southwards from the main stand.
The City of Helsinki's Building Committee approved permission to build the roof on Tuesday, and construction will begin already on Thursday of this week.
The area underneath the roof, designed to house around a thousand press, TV, and radio representatives, will be fitted out with desks only later, after Finland's footballers have played their World Cup 2006 qualifying match against Holland on June 8th.
The Building Committee also issued a statement strongly denying that it had dragged its feet on the issue.
The Olympic Stadium is a listed building and any alterations - even temporary - that could be seen to have an adverse impact on the architectonic whole have met with protests.
The initial decision to build a roof over the back straight of the venue also met with some opposition, although in this case it was more about the spending of money on a sporting event when Helsinki was strapped for cash in areas such as libraries and health care.
This permanent roof is now nearing completion, and will benefit spectators already at the June encounter with Holland.
Helsingin Sanomat