The MPC will also serve as the MPC for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

The MPC support facilities and services include:

-- The Main Lobby with comprehensive help desks, including Main Helpdesk, News-desk, Transportation Desk, Newsstand, travel information desk, banking, parcel services and retail stores.

-- A Service Centre with rate card services

-- A Main Press Workroom

-- Technology support with results and information services

-- Rental office spaces

-- Press Conference Area

-- Photo Work Area with Kodak Image Centre

-- Catering Areas

-- A Media Transport Hub linking with Media Accommodation sites, competition venues

-- Media Car Parking

-- Media Accreditation Centre

-- Taxi Rank

Located directly opposite the International Broadcast Centre (IBC), the building housing the MPC sits at a pivot point of the Olympic Green. It provides accredited press with easy access to the National Stadium, the National Aquatic Centre, the National Gymnasium and seven other competition venues. It is only 10 minutes walk to the Olympic Village and 10 minutes by bus to the Main Media Village.

The MPC building is a part of the Commercial Complex which occupies 4.07 hectares with a total floor space of 260,000 m2. The three storeys which will be used as MPC have 60,000 m2 floor space.

After the Olympic Games, the complex will serve as commercial service facilities of the National Convention Centre, which houses the IBC during the Games.

The construction of the Complex buildings has commenced and will be handed over to BOCOG in February 2008. The MPC overlay fit-out will last 2-3 months and the MPC will be open one month before the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony for agencies' equipment set-up and will start full operations two weeks before the Games.

The three-star hotel (A) and the five-star hotel (D) on the northern and southern ends of the MPC will be used as media hotels for the accredited media during the Olympic Games. The key staff members of press agencies and right-holding broadcasters will have priority in choosing the hotels. The primary consideration is that the two media hotels will apply the same MPC policies for guests during the Games regarding security check, transport and guests.

With a total floor area of 60,000 m2, the three-storey MPC for the Beijing Games will be the largest ever in Olympic history. The main functional areas are arranged from the lower ground floor, ground floor to the first floor.

-- Three separate media entrances

-- A VIP entrance leading directly to the Press Conference Green Room

-- A MPC Staff entrance

-- Two hotel staff entrances

Two entrances on the northern and eastern sides of the building both lead directly to the Main Help Desk and other functional help desks in the Main Lobby and the third entrance is dedicated for the photographers to enter the photo work area and Kodak Image Centre as well as the lower ground floor.

The VIP entrance on the south-east corner of the complex will lead directly to the Green room of the Main Press Conference Hall.

Separate entrances are also arranged for the two media staff hotels in the appropriated locations. The MPC and hotels will share two loading/unloading accesses and facilities in the lower ground floor.

The Beijing MPC is aiming to build up a highly logical layout for the Olympic press operations, which features easy flows and effective operations with 12 elevators and four escalators reaching three floors and a main street on each floor linking various functional areas.

[Ground Floor Layout]

[First Floor Layout]

[Lower Ground Floor Layout]