Arsenal to face Manchester City in China's Bird Nest Stadium

Premier League clubs Arsenal and Manchester City will play against each other on the opening day of the 2012 London Olympics at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing.

Bird's Nest Stadium

Named the ‘China Cup’, the one-off match will be played on July 27th at 20:00 (12:00 GMT), six and a half hours before the London opening ceremony begins. Making the announcement, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said in a statement:

“It is fitting that two English clubs are playing each other on the opening day of the London 2012 Olympics, in the stadium which hosted the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

“We enjoy huge support in Asia and by playing a match in Beijing we will once again be bringing the club close to our loyal fans in China.”

This will be Arsenal’s second consecutive visit to China in off-season, with the Gunners visiting Malaysia and China last season too. Wang Shuyan, president of promoters Beijing Winoly International Sports Culture Co, said the match was part of the company’s strategic growth plan to bring top clubs and leagues to China.

“Our focus is on elite, authentic football. Arsenal v Manchester City will undoubtedly be the highest quality EPL match ever in China.”

Bird’s Nest Stadium was built for the 2008 Olympics, hosted the Italian Super Cup between AC Milan and city rivals Inter in front of more than 70,000 local fans last August.