Athletes Alley

Athletes Alley is a sculpture conceived by the Belgian artist Olivier Strebelle (°1927-) and will be produced at the occasion of the Beijing Olympic Games of 2008.

This masterpiece is the result of the artist’s perseverance of over 20 years of research and trials on this symbolic theme. The abstract installation is composed of 5 tubular polished stainless steel modules that reach up to 20m heigh and spread over 100m long. From one focus spot, visitors will discover five bodies carrying the Olympic rings. This symbolic artwork will be placed in the Olympic garden of the site during Spring 2008 and will commemorate the Olympic Games in China’s history.

The production of “Athletes Alley” is an extraordinary process of successive collaborations of national and international experts. The Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) and Tsinghua University (China) have taken care of the preparation and digitalisation of every detail of the sculpture’s mock-up thanks to tailor-made software. The data has then been thoroughly analysed by a French engineers’ consultancy specialised in metallic frame-works (C&E Ingénierie). They have used the German software Sofistik to perform this non-linear mathematical analysis. Outstanding skills and avant-garde technical means have allowed for this construction to be realized. In total, it will consist of more than 1500 stainless steel tubes that will be assembled very rigorously and methodically.

Technical data : ▪ height : 20 m ▪ length : 106 m ▪ width : 25 m ▪ material : polished stainless steel tubes ▪ weight : 120 T

Athletes Alley is a gift from Belgium to the city of Beijing. Several major Belgian companies have chosen to participate in this unequalled endeavour by performing cultural sponsorship. The organisations Belgacom, CMB, D'Ieteren, Delhaize Le Lion, Domo, Euronav, Hainan Airlines, InBev, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Total, Suez, and the Loterie Nationale have taken on this partnership.