with national flags in rows each side of it. Interpretation booths are located behind them and along the sides of the chamber, while public galleries are located above the chamber around the entire perimeter. Further benches are provided between the sides of the raised area and the MEPs; these are taken up by the council on the far left and the commission on the far right. The chamber as a whole is of a modern design, with the walls entirely composed of lights with large blue chairs for MEPs. Ceiling collapse On 7 August 2008, 10% of the ceiling of the plenary chamber collapsed. No one was injured, as Parliament was not meeting at the time (it was in summer recess), though a number of seats were damaged. A first part of the ceiling collapsed at 18.00 CET followed by a second part at 22.36 CET. No extreme weather conditions were reported and the structure was new, so it was assumed that the false ceiling had a defect. The President's office stated that a third of the ceiling had been affected and that "The preliminary results have revealed that the partial collapse of the ceiling resulted from the breakage of parts holding the suspended ceiling that connects it with the actual structure of the ceiling." Repair work began immediately, but it became apparent that it could not be repaired in time for the next sitting. Thus, the session starting on 1 September was moved to the Brussels hemicycle. Parliament was expected to move back to Strasbourg for the session starting on 22 September but had to remain in Brussels for that session as well as safety inspections dragged on. The event was greeted with joy by those who oppose the Parliament's presence in Strasbourg, and mocked by eurosceptics who wore hard hats to the first plenary in Brussels after the incident (if Parliament had been sitting at the time, the collapsing ceiling would have hit members of the eurosceptic parties). In August 2012, the Paul-Henri Spaak building in Brussels which houses the hemicycle was found to be defective as well. Cracks in the beams that support the ceiling led to a security closure of at least six months, as announced by an estimate released on 9 October 2012 by the Parliament administration. This in turn led to a reshuffle of the Parliament's timetable. In early December 2012, it became known