Beach volleyball returned to Beijing for the first time since the 2008 Olympic Games in 2011 and the SWATCH World Tour will again revisit the Chinese capital in 2012, with the men's event scheduled for May 8-13. Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego sealed top spot of the podium last year as they beat Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann of Germany in the final. Swiss pair Jefferson Bellaguarda and Patrick Heuscher were the surprise bronze medallists. Prior to the 2008 Games Beijing had only hosted a a FIVB Challenger Event in 2007, won by Brazil's Vivian Cunha and Angela Viera. Beijing is China's largest city and is situated on the North coast of the country. It is recognized as the political, educational and cultural center of China and few cities in the world besides Beijing have served as the hub of an area the size of China for so long. The beach volleyball tournament will take place at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball, the same venue that played host to the Olympics three years ago. Below to the left is the podium at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (from left to right) Brazil's Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz, USA's Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser and Brazil's Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego.