Shanghai is characterized by a warm spring, hot summer, cool autumn and cold winter. July and August are Shanghai's hottest months, with an average temperature of 27.4 degrees Celsius. In winter, January is the coldest month, with a temperature averaging at 3 degrees Celsius.

The exterior look of the Stadium
The spectator stand of the Stadium

Shanghai Stadium

The Shanghai Stadium will serve as one of the Football venues for the 2008 Games. Built in 1997, the stadium covers 190,000 square meters and has a seating capacity of 80, 000.

Football

While the modern game of football started with the foundation of the Football Association of England in 1863, its roots extend to opposite ends of the earth. The ancient Chinese, Greeks and Romans played a similar game, long before English kings in the 1300s and 1400s were trying to outlaw the violent sport.

While professionals are allowed in the men’s tournament, rules restrict teams to players under 23 years old with the exception of three over-age players. ’No age restrictions apply for the women’s tournament. For the Beijing 2008 Games the number of women’s teams has been increased to 12. The men’s tournament is set at 16 teams.

The football competitions of the 29th Olympic Games will be held from August 6-23, 2008 in five cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao. The finals for men and women will be held in Beijing where three venues are located: the Workers' Stadium, the Olympic Sports Center Stadium and the National Stadium. The venues outside Beijing are: Shanghai Stadium, Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Shenyang Olympic Sport Center Stadium, and Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium.