Big Air | Olympics Big Air competes in Beijing in a “dystopian” landscape: “A wonderful arena and a big jump is absolutely crazy”

Zhangjiakou.

Snowboarding has traditionally been associated with eye – catching snowy mountain scenery, but the Beijing Olympics boldly draw their own line.

Slopestyle and gutter are also competed in Beijing in the mountains at Genting’s lavish ski resort, but Shougang’s Big Air scene has been boldly brought to Beijing’s million city.

Conservatively, the Big Air stage is not a travel advertisement. But this is the same development that is happening in Finland, for example: industry is giving way to people in more remote areas.

Rugged but exciting and historic environments emerge. New strata in the urban structure.

In Beijing, a steel plant has had to give way to people, the closure of which has also improved the air quality of the city.

China’s Ailing Eileen Gu took Olympic gold at the women’s freestyle. Picture: / ZUMA

It is a factory owned by the state-owned Shouagang Group, which the company closed in 2008, seven years before the Olympics were awarded to Beijing.

Construction of the arena began in 2018 and was completed a year later. It is also intended to be used for other species and other sports and leisure facilities will be built around it.

“We had other options as an arena location, but the idea of ​​combining a dynamic sport with Beijing’s industrial heritage won. It was also in line with the International Olympic Committee’s idea of ​​sustainable development, “said the deputy director of the Beijing Department of Construction. Liu Yumin Inside The Games 2018.

According to Liu, the utilization of the urban and industrial environment had also aroused enthusiasm in the International Ski Federation.

First Freestyle skiers were able to compete in the Shougang Big Air arena Anni Kärävä and Simon Peltola.

Snowboarders will compete in Beijing next week.

This is not a temporary structure, as the 64-meter-high and 164-meter-long ramp will remain in place even after the Olympics.

According to the news agency Reuters, it is the world’s first permanent Big Air arena, Most of the time Big Air jumpers are built for each race, as the sport is still relatively new.

“A wonderful arena and a big jump is just crazy,” a British freestyle skier Kirsty Muir commented to Reuters.

“The first time upstairs was a little disappointing, as you can usually see the mountains from the top. But when the lights came on, the place was really wonderful, ”commented the Frenchman Antoine Adelisse.

On Twitter, the arena was compared to the landscapes of the super-popular animation series SImpson. For some, the place is reminiscent of dystopia, a horror picture of a future society.

“The Big Air Stadium arena seems to be right next to the Springfield nuclear power plant,” he wrote John Lovett.

The Beijing Olympics slopestyle and gutter traditionally compete in the mountains. Picture: Markku Ulander / Lehtikuva

The Olympics left their mark on the old steel plant. Picture: Francois-Xavier Marit / Lehtikuva