OSC REFERENCE COLLECTION

Sharing history, enriching the future

The Olympic
Stadiums of the
Summer Games from
Athens 1896 to
Tokyo 2020
28.01.2019
The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games
from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

The Olympic Studies Centre is part of the Olympic Foundation for Culture
and Heritage and is the official centre of reference for Olympic knowledge.

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OSC REFERENCE COLLECTION

The “OSC Reference collection” is published by The Olympic Studies Centre, your centre of
reference for Olympic knowledge. It gathers a series of documents providing key historical
facts and figures related to different aspects of the Olympic Games, the Olympic Movement
and the IOC.

In the same collection:

Demonstration Sports: History at the Olympic Winter Games

Elections of the Presidents of the International Olympic Committee: Candidates
and Voting Results
History of the Sports at the Olympic Summer Games
History of the Sports at the Olympic Winter Games
Olympic Summer Games Mascots
Olympic Winter Games Mascots
Olympic Summer Games Medals
Olympic Winter Games Medals
Olympic Summer Games Posters
Olympic Winter Games Posters
Olympic Summer Games Villages
Olympic Winter Games Villages
The Olympic Programme Evolution
The Sports Pictograms of the Olympic Summer Games
The Sports Pictograms of the Olympic Winter Games
Torches and Torch Relays of the Olympic Summer Games
Torches and Torch Relays of the Olympic Winter Games
Youth Olympic Games Mascots
Youth Olympic Games Medals

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Olympic Studies Centre are available on The Olympic World Library (OWL), our library
catalogue entirely devoted to Olympic knowledge: www.olympic.org/library

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© 2019 International Olympic Committee

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

CONTENTS

Athens 1896 8

St. Louis 1904 12

London 1908 15

Stockholm 1912 19

Antwerp 1920 23

Paris 1924 26

Amsterdam 1928 30

Los Angeles 1932 34

Berlin 1936 38

London 1948 42

Helsinki 1952 46

Melbourne 1956 50

Rome 1960 53

Tokyo 1964 56

Mexico 1968 59

Munich 1972 63

Montreal 1976 67

Moscow 1980 70

Los Angeles 1984 73

Seoul 1988 77

Barcelona 1992 81

Atlanta 1996 85

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Sydney 2000 88

Athens 2004 91

Beijing 2008 94

London 2012 97

Rio 2016: Maracanã Stadium 101

Rio 2016: Olympic Stadium 105

Tokyo 2020 108

Credits 111

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

INTRODUCTION

Already in ancient times there were buildings capable of holding large numbers of people for
sports events or war games, as well as political or religious occasions. This was the case in
Olympia, for example, the sacred site of the ancient Olympic Games, for which the stadium,
with slopes but generally few seats, was enlarged several times over the centuries 1. The
Colosseum situated in Rome, certainly the largest amphitheatre in the ancient world, was
capable of holding tens of thousands of spectators, and a source of inspiration for modern
stadiums, like that used for the Olympic Summer Games in 1960. This ancient origin is also
found in the word “stadion” (or “stade”) itself, which in Ancient Greece was a unit of length: the
Olympic stadion was 192m long. As an infrastructure, a stadium is a large usually roofless
building with tiers of seats for spectators at sports events. 2

When, at the end of the 19th century, the Olympic Games were reborn under the impetus of
Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the question of having a stadium as the main feature of the event
began as early as the first edition in 1896 in Athens. It was in fact a building from Antiquity, the
Panathenaic Stadium which, once renovated, played this solemn role and became a major
legacy of these Games.

The stadiums which multiplied in the 19th century, as society changed and construction
techniques evolved did not uniquely stay focused solely on sport. Instead they tended more
and more to become multifunctional buildings used for cultural, recreational and economic
tourism purposes 3. Pierre de Coubertin, who was already concerned about such diversification
in 1930, addressed it in an article entitled “Remedies. I. The question of stadiums” 4.

For the host city, the Olympic Games can represent an opportunity to create first-class
sporting facilities, or make use of existing ones, in the framework of an urban planning project
that will benefit the population. This was already the case for Los Angeles in 1932, for
example, where the building of the magnificent Memorial Coliseum brought new life to what
had become a rundown area. More recently, in 2012 in London, the creation of the Olympic
Stadium and Park helped to revitalise an area of urban industrial wasteland.

This document presents the stadiums for the Olympic Summer Games which have hosted the
athletics events and/or the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Thanks to their size and
prestige, these buildings are generally regarded as the core centre of the sports facilities
created for the Games, which is why they are sometimes referred to as the “main stadium”.
Only the 1900 Games in Paris, where a sports field rather than a stadium was used for the
athletics events, have not been included in this document.

Each of the stadiums is presented in the form of a table with a series of brief details which,
unless otherwise specified, correspond to the situation at the time of the Games. There is then

1
See Ludwig Drees, Olympia, Gods, Artists and Athletes, Pall Mall Press, London, 1968, pp. 87-96.
2
Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of “stadium”.
3
See, for example Rod Sheard, Sports Architecture, Spon Press, 2001, pp. 2-4.
4
Bulletin du Bureau International de Pédagogie Sportive, Lausanne, no. 2, n. d., pp. 3-6. This text is unsigned but is
attributed to Pierre de Coubertin.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

information on the stadium project itself, together with how it was used or adapted for the
Games, its architecture, its particular features and lastly its post-Olympic use.

As well as being the setting for sporting achievements by the athletes, Olympic stadiums have,
over the years, provided a panorama of interpretations of how to create a modern sports arena
for different times, places and cultures. We invite you to discover this panorama in the rest of
this document.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

AT H E N S 1 8 9 6

The stadium during rebuilding work (top) / High jump (bottom) The crowd outside the stadium (top) / View of the stadium during the
marathon (bottom)

PANATHENAIC STADIUM

Name: The name “Panathenaic” means that it is intended for all

Athenians. It is also called, Kallimàrmaro, which means “beautiful
marble”.

Location: Avenue Vasileos Konstantinou, Athens, Greece

Status Renovated for the Games. Currently in use.

Designers: Original stadium (4 BC): Lycurgus

Transformation (2 AD): Herodes Atticus
Restoration 1895-1896: Anastase Metaxas

Cost: 920,000 drachmas (restoration 1895-1896)

Capacity: ~60,000 spectators

Dimensions: 268m long, 141m wide and 22.5m high

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Additional information: Total surface area: 33,100 m2. The volume of marble used was
around 29,400m3.

Construction: 4th century BC, 2nd century (transformation), 1895-1896

(restoration)

Official opening: -

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the finish of the marathon), wrestling and
gymnastics (for which the programme also included weightlifting).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Games.

THE PROJECT
The origins of the Panathenaic Stadium go back to ancient times. In the 4th century BC, the
orator Lycurgus coordinated the work which consisted principally in the creation of the
terracing for the stadium. At this point, the spectators simply sat on the ground. The
competition area was delimited by a stone parapet. In the 2nd century AD, the important
developments realised by Herodes Atticus included the addition of marble stands, and the
shape of the stadium was changed from a rectangle to a horseshoe. However, over the
centuries, the stadium was abandoned, and the stonework was used for other buildings. It was
not until the second half of the 19th century, after archaeological excavation, that the first
renovation work brought the building back to life.

At the beginning of 1895, when the preparations to hold the first Olympic Games of the
modern era were taken over by the Crown Prince Constantine, the Panathenaic Stadium was
envisaged as the key element of the event. A subcommittee was then created to work on
rebuilding the stadium, based on the design of the ancient one.

ARCHITECTURE
The stadium makes use of the topography, as it is built in a depression created by two hills. In
the shape of a horseshoe open to the north west, the building, with two long sides, is closed
off on the south-east side by a semi-circular stand known as a sphendon. For the Games in
1896, due to the lack of time available, only the lower rows of the sphendon and the first four
rows of the long sides were in marble. The rest of the stands were made of poros limestone or
used wooden benches painted white. These were replaced with marble after the Games and
were finalised in 1904. A diazoma, a horizontal corridor around the stadium, separates the 24
lower rows from the 23 higher rows of seats.

For the Games in 1896, the bridge over the River Ilissos in front of the stadium was enlarged
by around 12 metres to facilitate access from the city, and wooden footbridges were also
added.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
A 70-metre vaulted tunnel, excavated inside the rock, links the stadium to the outside, passing
under the south-eastern stand. Dating from ancient times, its original role is not certain. Some
sources say that it was probably used for the athletes and judges to enter, or even wild
animals used in combat. At the start of the 19th century, traveller Edward Dodwell wrote that
offerings were placed there. Simone Pomardi, a painter accompanying him, wrote about secret
rites performed by young women to encourage Fate to find them a good husband. The tunnel
was used as a changing room during the 1896 Games.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

“A marvel to the eyes, though not so

impressive to hear of, is a race-course of white
marble, […].”
Pausanias5
AFTER THE GAMES
The link between the Panathenaic Stadium and the modern Olympic Games continued well
after 1896. The building was used to hold the archery competitions and the finish of the men’s
and women’s marathon at the 2004 Games. In addition, as part of the Olympic torch relay, at a
ceremony generally held in the Panathenaic Stadium, the Hellenic Olympic Committee,
responsible for the relay in Greece, hands over the flame to the Olympic Games Organising
Committee.

Throughout the 20th century, the stadium hosted numerous celebrations and sports and
cultural events, such as the first Balkan Games in 1929, the final of the European Cup
Winners’ Cup in 1968 and the opening ceremony of the World Athletics Championships in
1997.

In April 2010, thanks to the efforts of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, the building was
opened to the public and became a tourist attraction.

DID YOU KNOW?

The entire restoration of the stadium for the Games was privately financed by George
Averoff. In recognition of this, a statue of him by sculptor Georgios Vroutos was placed
next to the stadium, where it can still be seen today.
As mentioned by Aristea Papanicolaou-Christensen, the stones needed for the renovation
work in 1895 and 1896 came from several quarries, especially the poros limestone
quarries near Piraeus and the marble quarries of Mount Pentelicus. From the latter,
marble blocks were transported by cart and finished on site.
Since the 2004 Games in Athens, the Panathenaic Stadium has appeared on the obverse
of the winners’ medals presented at the Olympic Summer Games.

SOURCES
‒ Aristea Papanicolaou-Christensen, Le stade panathénaïque: son histoire au fil des siècles,
Hellenic Republic - Ministry of culture, Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece,
Athens, 2003, pp. 11, 21, 26, 47-48, 76, 80, 85, 117, 122, 142.
‒ Edward Dodwell, Classical and topographical tour through Greece during the years 1801,
1805 and 1806, vol. 1, London, 1819, pp. 409-410.
‒ Panathenaic Stadium: discover 2,500 years of history, Hellenic Olympic Committee, n. d.,
pp. 3, 9.
‒ Panathenean stadium: a symbol through time: Athens-Greece, Hellenic Olympic
Committee, n. d., n. p.
‒ Pausanias, Description of Greece, vol. 1, books 1-2 (Attica and Corinth), W. H. S. Jones
[transl.], Loeb Classical Library 93, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1918, p. 97.

5
Pausanias is referring to the stadium at the time of Herodes Atticus, of whom he was a contemporary (2nd century
AD).

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

‒ Simone Pomardi, Viaggio nella Grecia fatto da Simone Pomardi negli anni 1804, 1805, e
1806, vol. 1, Rome, 1820, pp. 153-156.
‒ The Olympic Games 776 B.C. - 1896 A.D., C. Beck, Athens, H. Grevel, London, 1896, vol.
2, pp. 16-23, 33-38, 42, 51, 55, 111.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

S T. L O U I S 1 9 0 4

View of the stadium and gymnasium (top) / Pole vault (bottom) Start of the marathon (top) / Spectators in the stands (bottom)

THE STADIUM

Name: It was simply referred to as the stadium in the programmes and

sources of the time. It was then named Francis Field, in reference
to David Rowland Francis, who was, among other things, a
student at Washington University, the 27th Governor of Missouri
and President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

Location: Washington University, St. Louis, USA

Status: Built for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and also used for the
Games. Currently in use.

Designers: -

Cost: 750,000 US dollars 6

Capacity: ~25,000 spectators

6
This amount also covers the construction of the adjoining gymnasium.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Dimensions: -

Additional information: -

Construction: 1899 to 1902

Official opening: -

Events during the Games: Cycling, athletics (including the start and finish of the marathon),
weightlifting, wrestling, tug of war, some football and lacrosse
matches, and some of the gymnastics events.
It also hosted other sports events held as part of the World’s Fair,
but not on the official programme of the Games, including
American football matches and roque (a kind of croquet).

THE PROJECT
Washington University originally built the stadium for use during the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition, a World Fair held to celebrate the centenary of the purchase by the USA of
Louisiana from France. In 1901, the University rented part of its land and some of its buildings
to the Exposition. The money from that was used to finish building the stadium and the
gymnasium. The university campus site chosen to build the stadium is to the north east of a
wooded area. Initially planned for 1903, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was finally held in
1904. The Olympic Games in that year, originally scheduled to be held in Chicago, were
moved to St. Louis at the beginning of 1903.

ARCHITECTURE
The stadium was built on an oval plot. Reinforced concrete stands with around 25,000 seats
formed the south part of the stadium. The numbers of each section were painted on the wall in
front of the stands. The seating in the central sections was more luxurious, with wooden seats
as opposed to concrete bleachers with no backrests in the rest of the stands. The north side
had a gymnasium rather than stands.

The main cinder track was a third of a mile (roughly 536 metres) long and 20 feet (around six
metres) wide. Its peculiar form resembles a trapezium consisting of three short straights and
one longer one linked by four bends.

AFTER THE GAMES

Once the Games were over, Francis Field became the home of the University’s Bears
American football team. The Bears played many university matches there between the 1920s
and 1940s. Stands were installed on the north side to host as many spectators as possible for
these matches. The audience also benefited from field lighting, an unusual technology at the
time.

The Olympic flame visited Francis Field on three occasions (Los Angeles 1984, Atlanta 1996
and Athens 2004) to commemorate the 1904 Games in St Louis.

In 1984, the stadium underwent its first major renovation, after more than 80 years of
existence. The work carried out included replacing the cinder track by a 400-metre artificial
track, which is now known as the James Butler Bushyhead Track. Part of the stands was
demolished, and the stadium capacity was reduced to 4,000.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

DID YOU KNOW?

An ornamental wrought-iron gate at the east entrance to the stadium was erected to
commemorate the Olympic Games afterwards. The stadium and this gate are now both
listed historic monuments.

SOURCES
‒ Bill Mallon, The 1904 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with
Commentary, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 1999, pp. 11, 49, 114, 135, 149,
165, 191, 194, 197, 204, 218.
‒ “David R. Francis Field”, website of the Washington University in St. Louis.
‒ “Francis Field”, website of the Washington University in St. Louis Athletics.
‒ “Francis Field rededication, torch relay mark end of Sesquicentennial”, the Source,
30 June 2004, website of the Washington University in St. Louis.
‒ George Matthews, Sandra Marshall, Images of America: St. Louis Olympics 1904,
Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2003, pp. 18-20, 28, 128.
‒ Karl Lennartz, Thomas Zawadzki, Die Spiele der III. Olympiade 1904 in St. Louis. Kassel:
AGON Verlag, 2004, p. 79.
‒ “Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company Records, 1898-1925”, website of the Missouri
Historical Society.
‒ “Olympic flame lights St. Louis’ pride”, Globe-Democrat, 7 June 1984, in 1984 Olympic
Torch Relays: News Media Results, AT&T [ed.], 1984, n. p.
‒ Programme of Olympic Games and World’s Championship Contests, Department of
Physical Culture, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, ca 1904, p. 4.
‒ “The Olympic Torch Relay”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 26 May 1996, extract, website of
Questia.
‒ Un siècle du Comité International Olympique: 1894-1994: l’idée, les présidents, l’œuvre,
International Olympic Committee, Raymond Gafner [dir.], 1994-1997, vol. 1, pp. 119, 121.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

LONDON 1908

The stadium during the marathon (top) / The diving platform (bottom) View of the stadium (top) / The Queen presenting a prize to Dorando
Pietri (bottom)

THE STADIUM

Name: In the official report published by the Organising Committee, the

title used is “The Stadium”. There are also references to “The
Great Stadium”, for example in the picture on the front of the
programme. The stadium was then renamed White City Stadium,
in reference to the white marble-clad pavilions of the Franco-
British Exhibition on this site.

Location: Wood Lane, Shepherd’s Bush, London, United Kingdom

Status: Built for the Games and the Franco-British Exhibition. No longer
exists.

Designers: John James Webster (design), George Wimpey (contractor)

Cost: ~60,000 pounds sterling

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Capacity: 70 – 80,000 spectators 7

Dimensions: The stadium covered an area of roughly 305 by 213 metres.

Additional information: According to Rebecca Jenkins, 3,000 tons of steel, 572,345 rivets
and 13,656 tons of cement were used.

Construction: The first stanchion was put in place in July 1907.

Official opening: On 14 May 1908, the opening day of the Franco-British

Exhibition, the Prince and Princess of Wales officially dedicated
the building to international sport.

Events during the Games: Of the 22 sports on the programme, 11 were held in the stadium:
athletics (including the finish of the marathon), archery, cycling,
gymnastics, wrestling, aquatic sports and tug of war took place
there between 13 July, when the Games were officially opened
by the King, and 25 July, when the Queen presented the prizes.
The football, rugby, hockey and lacrosse competitions were
played in October. Beside the stadium, a fencing hall was set up
for this sport.

THE PROJECT
The 1908 Games were transferred to London in 1906 after Rome dropped out. They were held
in the same year as the Franco-British Exhibition, also held in the British capital. In January
1907, the Games organisers signed an agreement with those of the Exhibition, who were also
planning to build a sports arena. The Exhibition Executive Committee built the stadium and
provided the staff and equipment. In return, the Exhibition received three-quarters of the
ticketing revenue. The stadium was built in Shepherd’s Bush, on the land set aside for the
Exhibition, to which it had access gates. The area was still quite rural at the time, and
contained brick fields and shooting ranges.

ARCHITECTURE
The stadium structure was built of steel and concrete, in a long oval shape with covered
parallel lateral stands to the east and west that could accommodate almost 20,000 spectators.
The space under the stands was used to create various rooms, including changing rooms and
catering facilities.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
According to Martin Polley (2015), the organisers wanted to hold as many events as possible
inside the stadium. As such, the infield which measured around 213 by 91 metres was
surrounded by two tracks, an athletics track measuring one-third of a mile (536.4 metres), and
outside that a banked cycle track three-eighths of a mile (603.5 metres) long.

In addition, a pool measuring 100 by 15 metres was dug in the western part of the infield, next
to the athletics track. It included a metal tower used for the diving competitions, which could be
lowered to free up space and improve the view.

7
Figures from the Official Report (pp. 21 and 389). Different sources give very different figures for the stadium
capacity, in some cases right up to 150,000.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

« The huge amphitheatre, sometimes black

with people gone wild with enthusiasm, gave
off a feeling of organic power […]. »
Pierre de Coubertin 8
AFTER THE GAMES
The site hosted other major exhibitions such as the Japan-British Exhibition in 1910, during
which there were firework displays three evenings a week inside the stadium. As of 1927, the
stadium was used for greyhound races. The roof over the stands was extended all the way
round, and the pool filled in. After that, the stadium held various sports events, including rugby,
American football, boxing and speedway. Queens Park Rangers football club played there
between 1931 and 1933, and again between 1962 and 1963. The Amateur Athletic
Association Championships were held there from 1932, at which time a 440-yard (402.3-
metre) athletics track replaced the original one, through to 1970. In 1934, the stadium hosted
the British Empire Games (which went on to become the Commonwealth Games). On 15 July
1966, in front of 45,665 spectators, the Football World Cup first round match between France
and Uruguay was played at White City.

The surrounding area gradually changed over time, and the stadium was demolished in 1985.
It made way for administrative and commercial buildings, notably occupied by the British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). As a reminder of the sporting past of the site, a road is
named Dorando Close, in reference to Dorando Pietri, who remained famous despite being
disqualified from the marathon at the 1908 Games, for which the finish was inside the stadium.

DID YOU KNOW?

On 26 July 2012, a day before the Opening Ceremony of the Games, which were being
held for the third time in London, the Olympic Torch Relay passed through White City,
where the stadium once stood. On the ground in a small square, there was the following
text: “This is the site of the finishing line of White City Stadium which hosted the 1908
Olympics.” On the wall of a building, a commemorative plaque, unveiled in 2005 by the
then IOC President, Jacques Rogge, to mark the centenary of the British Olympic
Association, listed the Olympic medallists from 1908.

SOURCES
‒ “1966 FIFA World Cup England”, website of the Fédération Internationale de Football
Association.
‒ Ayako Hotta-Lister, The Japan-British Exhibition of 1910, gateway to the Island Empire of
the East, Routledge, 2013, p. 101.
‒ Bill Mallon, Ian Buchanan, The 1908 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All
Events, with Commentary, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2000, p. 6.
‒ “Comte Jacques Rogge unveils 1908 commemorative Olympic plaque”, press release,
website of the BBC, 24 May 2005.
‒ David Littlefield, ”White City, the art of erasure and forgetting the Olympic Games”,
Architectural Design, vol. 82, no. 1, January-February 2012, p. 73.
‒ “History - Timeline and Club Honours”, website of the Queens Park Rangers.

8
Founder of the modern Olympic Games and President of the International Olympic Committee from 1896 to 1925.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

‒ Imre Kiralfy, The Great Stadium and Sport Section, Shepherd’s Bush, London, 1908,
p. 40.
‒ Martin Polley, “The 1908 Olympic Games, A case study in accidental and incidental
legacies”, Routledge Handbook of sport and legacy, Meeting the challenge of major sports
events, Richard Holt and Dino Ruta [ed.], 2015, pp. 61-62.
‒ Martin Polley, The British Olympics. Britain’s Olympic heritage 1612-2012, English
Heritage, 2011, pp. 104-105, 124.
‒ Pierre de Coubertin, Olympic Memoirs, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, 1997,
p. 99.
‒ Rebecca Jenkins, The first London Olympics 1908, Piatkus, 2008, pp. 48, 50.
‒ Theodore Andrea Cook, The Fourth Olympiad: being the official report of the Olympic
Games of 1908 celebrated in London, British Olympic Association, London, 1909, pp. 20-
21, 26, 45-46, 389.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

STOCKHOLM 1912

View of the stadium (top) / South entrance to the stadium (bottom) Equestrian sports (top) / Football (bottom)

THE STADIUM

Name: It is called the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, or simply the

Stockholm Stadium.

Location: Lidingövägen 1-3, 114 33 Stockholm, Sweden

Status: Built for the Games. Currently in use.

Designer: Torben Grut (architect)

Cost: ~1,250,000 Swedish krona

Capacity: 22,000 spectators

Dimensions: ~210m long and ~121m wide

Additional information: -

Construction: Autumn 1910 to spring 1912

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Official opening: 2 June 1912 9

Events during the Games: Gymnastics, athletics (including the start and finish of the
marathon and cross-country), tug of war, Greco-Roman
wrestling, jumping and dressage for the equestrian events (but
not eventing), some of the football matches and the running part
of the modern pentathlon.
Opening Ceremony.
It was also used for other festivities linked to the Games,
including a banquet for 3,000 people, a concert and the opening
of the equestrian events.

THE PROJECT
To stage the Games, the Organising Committee initially planned to build a temporary wooden
stadium on the athletics field in the Östermalm district. In the end, however, it was decided to
build a permanent stadium on another sports site near the smart residential districts of
Stockholm, the Athletic Park, which was more central and with easier access, thanks to the
existing tram line. Torben Grut, the architect commissioned to design the building, had to
change his original plans to fit the particular conditions of the new site. He therefore proposed
a wholly new project, for a stadium in stone, which would be more resistant and durable but
was also costlier.

The planning and construction of the Olympic stadium were marked by difficulties in finding the
funding needed for the work and reach an agreement between the various bodies involved,
namely the Organising Committee, the government, the Swedish Central Association for the
Promotion of Athletics, behind the Stockholm candidature, and the Athletic Park Company, the
site owner. After long negotiations between the various parties, begun in November 1909, the
Central Association acquired the site for 127,000 krona, and the King of Sweden gave his final
approval to the stadium plans on 28 November 1910. Funds from the national lottery were
used to help finance the building.

ARCHITECTURE
The shape of the stadium is like a U-shaped magnet, with the ends, pointing towards the
north, each marked by a square tower. The main entrance is on the south side, in the centre of
the semi-circle. A cast-iron clock was installed on a façade of the eastern tower. Inside the
stadium, there was a football pitch surrounded by an athletics track measuring 384.1 metres.
The royal box in the centre of the eastern wing offered a complete view of the stadium and
was ideally positioned to watch the finish of races. To avoid athletes and officials having to
cross the athletics track during the competitions, a tunnel built beneath it links the north-east
exterior of the stadium with the infield.

The stadium walls are made of large bricks, placed and jointed using a medieval process used
to build the walls of certain cities, fortresses, monasteries and churches in Sweden. Other
kinds of bricks were used for the wall decorations and the Roman arches of the stadium
arcades.

Between the stadium walls and the cast iron barrier marking the boundary there were public
gardens and walkways. There were various entrances to the building and its surroundings for

9
Date given on page 292 of the official report. Several later sources give the date as 1 June.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

spectators. The main entrance, to the south, known as Valhallavägen, consisted of two arches
with turnstiles and a wider access gate for vehicles. There were other access points to the
east, west, north east and north west.

To accommodate an extra 3,050 spectators, the decision was taken in September 1911 to
build an additional stand at the north end of the stadium, between two towers. In addition, the
capacity of the permanent stands was increased by extending the existing stands down to the
level of the track, using temporary wooden seating.

“The Gothic stadium, with its pointed arches

and towers, its technical perfection, its well-
planned and methodical regulations, seemed a
model of its kind.”
Pierre de Coubertin
AFTER THE GAMES
The stadium was lent to the Organising Committee for the duration of the Games and then
returned to the Swedish State, which took over the management of it afterwards.

The stadium was once again used for the equestrian events of the Olympic Summer Games in
1956. In 1958, fixed stands were added to increase spectator capacity.

Since its creation, it has hosted and continues to host numerous sports competitions, including
national and international athletics events such as the Diamond League, the Bauhaus-Galan
meeting and the Stockholm marathon. The stadium is also used regularly for concerts, the first
pop music concert being held there in 1987. Cultural events are also organised. The stadium
is even used in the winter, with three 430-metre tracks created for cross-country skiers.

It has maintained its original aesthetic and architecture until today.

DID YOU KNOW?

Intended for local artists and talented youngsters to express themselves by sculpting
artworks, large granite blocks were installed around the façade of the stadium. Two
sculptures under the clock in the eastern tower were completed in time for the Games:
they represent Ask and Embla, the first human beings created by the gods in Nordic
mythology.

SOURCES
‒ Ake Jönsson, Guide to the Sunshine Olympiad, Stockholm: Klocktornet Media AD, 2012,
pp. 129-130, 172.
‒ “Fêtes et Cérémonies”, Olympic Review, no. 8, August 1912, p. 125, 127.
‒ “‘Fire, When Great Festivals Are Celebrated at the Stadium’ – The ‘Olympic Flame’ in
Stockholm 1912”, Journal of Olympic History, vol. 19 no. 3, December 2011, pp. 44-45.
‒ Geraint John, “Theatres of dreams”, Olympic Review, no. 59, April-June 2006, p. 66.
‒ Jeux Olympiques à Stockholm, Suède en 1912: Ve Olympiade: Programme et dispositions
générales, Organising Committee for the Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912, 1912, p.
33.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

‒ Jeux Olympiques à Stockholm, Suède en 1912: Ve Olympiade, “Sports Athlétiques”,

Organising Committee for the Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912, 1912, p. 9.
‒ “OS 1912 – Byggandet av Stadion”, website of the Swedish Central Association for the
Promotion of Sport.
‒ Pierre de Coubertin, Olympic Memoirs, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, 1997,
p. 139.
‒ The Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912, The Fifth Olympiad, Erik
Bergvall [ed.], Swedish Olympic Committee, 1913, pp. 168-186, 190, 209, 292, 345.
‒ The Official Report of the Organizing Committee for the Equestrian Games of the XVIth
Olympiad, Stockholm 1956, Melbourne 1956 Organising Committee, 1959, p. 41.
‒ “Stockholm Olympic Stadium”, website of the IAAF Diamond League.
‒ “Stockholms stadion” and “Stockholms stadions historia”, website of the city of Stockholm.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

ANTWERP 1920

The Opening Ceremony (top) / The Finnish delegation (bottom) The main entrance to the stadium (top) / View of the stands (bottom)

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Beerschot Athletic Club Stadium, Beerschot Field or the Kiel

Stadium are all names for the Antwerp Olympic stadium.

Location: Atletenstraat 80, 2020 Antwerpen-Kiel, Belgium

Status: Built for the Games. Currently in use.

Designers: Fernand de Montigny and Louis Somers (architects)

MM. Humphreys & Co (contractors)

Cost: 2,280,479 Belgian francs

Capacity: 30,000 spectators

Dimensions: -

Additional information: -

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Construction: July 1919 to April 1920

Official opening: 1 May 1920 10

Events during the Games 11: Athletics (including the start and finish of the marathon and the
cross-country), football, gymnastics, rugby, tug of war,
weightlifting and the equestrian part of the modern pentathlon.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
In April 1919, Antwerp was chosen to host the 1920 Olympic Games. The organisers quickly
organised the construction of the sports venues, including an Olympic stadium, in a difficult
economic context just after the First World War. The location chosen for the future stadium
was a field used for training by Beerschot AC, a football club created in 1899. The area is
around five kilometres south of the city centre, and belonged to a local wealthy family. Initially
estimated at one million francs, the final cost of the stadium was more than double that,
because of the post-war inflation.

ARCHITECTURE
The architects drew inspiration from the stadium in Stockholm, but created a more modest-
sized one in Antwerp. Two main covered stands on either side of the stadium hosted the
spectators, with the royal box in the centre of one of the stands. The royal box had a separate
entrance and reception area. Other boxes beside it were reserved for the IOC, the National
Olympic Committees, the City Council and the International Federations. As well as the stands
on the sides, there were also circular ones with no roof that offered standing places. The area
between the royal box and the athletics track was used by the press: each journalist had a
desk with a telephone and a telegraph. A 389.9-metre athletics track encircled the football
field. The athletes entered the stadium via a tunnel which linked the changing rooms directly
with the infield.

The compact size of the stadium and its fittings ensured good visibility from every part of the
stands.

According to Richard Cashman, the stadium had Greek decorations, and plaster arches and
columns in the circular stands. As plaster is not built to last, these decorations disappeared
some time after the Games.

AFTER THE GAMES

According to The Stadium Guide, the capacity of the stadium decreased over the years to
25,000, and some parts were demolished. In 2000, the stadium underwent a major
transformation: the athletics track was removed and four individual stands with a capacity of
10,000 replaced the previous ones. KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk football club currently plays there.

10
Opening date given in the official report. Other sources give 23 May as the opening date.
11
The stadium was also used several times before the Games. It hosted gymnastics demonstrations and musical
competitions on 23 June, and qualifying events to select the Belgian athletics team on 27 June. The press was not told
about these events by the organisers and the stadium was empty.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

DID YOU KNOW?

King Albert I followed the preparations for the Olympic Games closely. On 27 March 1920,
he even paid an incognito visit to the stadium to inspect the progress of work.

SOURCES
‒ Jeux Olympiques à Anvers (Belgique) en 1920: VIIme Olympiade, Règlements généraux,
comités, programme général, Comité exécutif de la VIIme Olympiade, 1920, p. 103.
‒ Karl Lennartz, Wolf Reinhardt, Ralph Schlüter, Die Spiele des VII. Olympiade 1920 in
Antwerpen, Kassel: AGON Sportverlag, 2013, pp. 35-36.
‒ “Olympisch Stadion”, website of The Stadium Guide.
‒ “Olympisch Stadion”, website of the KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk.
‒ Rapport officiel des Jeux de la VIIème Olympiade Anvers 1920, Comité Olympique Belge,
1957, pp. 10, 13, 15, 49, 173.
‒ Richard Cashman, “Olympic Legacy in an Olympic City: Monuments, Museums and
Memory”, Global and Cultural Critique: Problematizing the Olympic Games, Fourth
International Symposium for Olympic Research, 1998, p. 108.
‒ Roland Renson, La VIIième Olympiade Anvers 1920: Les Jeux ressuscités, Comité
Olympique et Interfédéral Belge [ed.], Brussels, 1995, pp. 19-20.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

PA R I S 1 9 2 4

General view of the stadium (top) / The athletics track (bottom) View from the official stand (top) / Marathon stand (bottom)

COLOMBES OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Colombes Olympic Stadium, then Yves-du-Manoir Olympic

Stadium (1928-2018)

Location: 12 Rue François-Faber, 92700, Colombes, France

Status: Totally rebuilt for the Games. Currently in use.

Designers: Louis Faure-Dujarric (architect), Société de construction Edmond

Coignet (reinforced concrete), Établissements Haour Frères
(metal structure).

Cost: 4 million French francs

Capacity: 60,000 spectators

Dimensions: 243m long and 161m wide

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Additional information: The stand of honour and the marathon stand were 144m long
and 26.73m wide.
32 sets of stairs (eight in the stand of honour and the marathon
stand, four in each of the other stands).
Ten sprinklers every 48 metres to water the football pitch and
competition fields.

Construction: August 1922 - November 1923

Official opening: 4 May 1924 12

Events during the Games: Athletics (start and finish of the marathon and the race walk, and
finish of the cross-country), dressage and jumping for the
equestrian events (including the team competition), gymnastics,
football, and start and finish of the cycling road race.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
After the Olympic Games were awarded to Paris in 1921, the Olympic stadium selection was
the subject of intense discussion and serious prevarication for more than a year. For its part,
the Pershing Stadium, built by the Americans in 1919 to host the Inter-allied Games, did not
have a large enough capacity for the Olympic Games in 1924, but the City of Paris refused to
fund the building of a new stadium. In 1922, the French government decided: the Parc des
Princes was chosen, with a parliamentary subsidy of 20 million francs and the City of Paris
contributing 10 million. But this situation did not suit the city politicians, who were keen to
spend as little as possible on staging the Games. So the Racing Club de France (RCF)
undertook to rebuild the facilities it owned at Colombes in exchange for 50 per cent of the
revenue achieved by the French Olympic Committee (COF) during the period of the Games.

At the end of a tender process organised by the COF between seven specialist companies,
architect Louis Faure-Dujarric (a former runner and captain of the RCF rugby team) was
commissioned to renovate the stadium. This was on the site of a former horseracing track, and
the 16½ hectares were enough to allow the athletics stadium to be completely remodelled and
a stadium for tennis and another for aquatic sports to be built.

ARCHITECTURE
To meet the budget constraints, the architect designed a very simple structure. Inside the
stadium, there was an oval track, with an unusual length of 500 metres, with covered lateral
stands for 10,000 seated spectators (stand of honour and marathon stand) on each straight.
The 144-metre corrugated iron roof was supported by a metal framework. Its design was a
technical achievement in itself, as, in order not to block the view of the spectators, the roof was
supported on only 10 posts, placed every 16 metres. Around the two bends, there was room
for 40,000 standing spectators, with no roofing. The stands were built on a mixed structure: an
embankment for the lower part, with a reinforced concrete section on the upper part. This
choice of two different construction techniques for the stands was a result of the desire to keep
costs to a minimum. Under the stand of honour there were 35 changing rooms with a capacity
of 1,200 athletes. This minimalist approach was also applied to the stadium surroundings, with
only the wall around the stadium perimeter decorated with moulded athlete statues. Lastly, all

12
Rugby match between France and Romania

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

the elements of the stadium had their own colour, creating a harmony of unity, and giving the
stadium “an extremely happy, healthy and sporty character” 13. Indeed, while the outside was
covered with yellow ochre paint, the doors were blue, the cinder track was a vivid red and its
cement edging was painted white.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
Before renovating the stadium and building the other facilities needed for the Olympic Games
(pool and tennis courts), the Racing Club de France signed an agreement with the National
Sports Committee (CNS) 14 and agreed to make the stadium available to the CNS on 15
Sundays a year to promote the practice of sport. Both parties benefited from this, as the
Racing Club de France obtained financial guarantees and the security of seeing its stadium
become the biggest in France, while the CNS could use new facilities, all in the same location,
without becoming the owner and taking on the related financial responsibility.

Even though, during the Games, the stadium was notable for the purity and simplicity of its
architecture, some of the facilities, such as showers with hot water, electric lighting and
heating, gave the athletes an impression of luxury and a feeling of modernity.

“The stadium is a friendly place and it’s our

home. It’s probably not the nicest looking one
or the most comfortable, but it’s ours, and
everyone knows that there’s no better place
than home.”
Henry Chavancy 15
AFTER THE GAMES
The stadium was enlarged ahead of the football World Cup in 1938. Three matches were held
there, including the final. In 1939, it was requisitioned by the French army. After that, until the
1970s and the reconstruction of the Parc des Princes, numerous French Cup finals and Five
Nations rugby matches were held in the stadium, as well as other non-sporting events (Verdi’s
opera Aida in 1932). After that, the stadium hosted fewer and fewer international events, and
only the Racing Club de France continues to occupy the stadium with its various teams. Until
December 2017, the stadium hosted rugby matches played by Racing 92 (the RCF’s new
name).

For the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the stadium will host the field hockey matches.

13
Quote by Francis Rod, an Arts et Manufactures engineer.
14
In 1894, a French Olympic Committee (COF) was created at the behest of Pierre de Coubertin, and a few years
later, another body – the National Sports Committee (CNS) – was also created. From 1913 to 1925, the CNS and
COF merged and shared a single headquarters and president. However, in 1925, both committees decided to have
their own separate management, but with the COF under the responsibility of the CNS. Finally, in February 1972, both
committees merged to create the current body, the CNOSF.
15
Player and captain of the Racing 92 rugby team, which played at the Yves du Manoir Olympic Stadium until
December 2017.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

DID YOU KNOW?

During the work to reconfigure the stadium, the Racing Club de France continued to
organise events on the central part.

During the night of 20 to 21 July, 1,500 cubic metres of sand were brought in and spread
on the pitch so the equestrian competition could be held there.

For the final of the football tournament of the 1924 Games, more than 15,000 spectators
had to remain outside the stadium because of the huge crowds wanting to watch the
match.

Uruguay, whose team won the football tournament, gave the name Colombes to one of
the stands in its Centenary Stadium in Montevideo.

SOURCES
‒ Florence Pizzorni-Itié, Les yeux du stade: Colombes, temple du sport, Musée municipal
d’Art et d’Histoire de Colombes, Éditions de l’Albaron, Thonon-les-Bains, pp. 72-91.
‒ Francis Rod, ”Constructions civiles: Le stade olympique de Colombes, près de Paris”, Le
Génie Civil, 44e years, t. 85, no. 6, 9 August 1924, pp. 127, 128.
‒ Jean-François Fournel, ”Que reste-t-il des Jeux Olympiques de Paris 1924 ? ”, La Croix,
25 August 2017.
‒ Les Jeux de la VIIIe Olympiade Paris 1924: rapport officiel, Comité Olympique Français,
Librairie de France, Paris, 1924, pp. 45, 46, 50, 52, 53, 75, 225, 814, 815, 816.
‒ Michaël Delépine, ”Le stade de Colombes et la question du grand stade en France (des
origines à 1972) ”, Sciences sociales et sport, 2014/1, no. 7, pp. 93, 96.
‒ Raymond Pointu, Camille Sève, Paris Olympique, Éditions du Panama, 2005, pp. 108-
112.
‒ Thierry Terret, Les paris des Jeux Olympiques de 1924, vol. 1, Les paris de la candidature
et de l’organisation, Atlantica, Biarritz, 2008, pp. 127-150.
‒ VIIIe Olympiade, Paris 1924: Programme des Jeux Olympiques: Équitation, Comité
exécutif des Jeux de la VIIIe Olympiade, Paris, 1924.

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AMSTERDAM 1928

The Opening Ceremony (top) / View of the stands (bottom) The stadium entrance (top) / View of the stadium and the Marathon
Tower (bottom)

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Olympic Stadium

Location: Olympisch Stadion 2, 1076 DE Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Status: Built for the Games. Currently in use.

Designers: Jan Wils (architect)

Kruithof and Scholten (contractor)

Cost: 1,243,181 florins (gross costs of the stadium with the results
board, roof for two stands and running and cycle tracks) 16

Capacity: 40,000 spectators

16
A list of the expenses on p. 151 of the official report mentions the additional costs needed, such as the land for the
stadium and the Marathon Tower.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Dimensions: ~245m long and ~163m wide

Additional information: -

Construction: In September 1926, work began on stabilising the ground and

consolidating the foundations. From May 1927 (the first stone
was laid on 18 May) to May 1928, construction of the building.

Official opening: First use on 17 May 1928 for the opening match of the Olympic
hockey tournament (Netherlands - France).

Events during the Games: Jumping in the equestrian events (including eventing), athletics
(including the start and finish of the marathon), track cycling and
a number of football and hockey matches.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
The existing stadium to the south of the city was not suitable for holding the Games. The
organisers thus proposed a radical plan to get one that was. In 1925, architect Jan Wils
attended the Olympic Congress in Prague with an initial plan to alter the existing stadium. The
plan met expectations, was accepted, and received the support of the Nederlandsch
Sportpark, the company that would be taking over the stadium after the Games, and
Amsterdam City Council.

However, the initial plan changed when the city offered the organisers 19 hectares of other
land close to the old stadium. So Wils revised his plans; the old stadium was demolished, and
a new, more suitable sports complex built next to it. In addition to the stadium itself, temporary
accommodation and venues for the swimming, tennis, fencing, wrestling and weightlifting
events with a capacity of 20,000 were built close by. Wils included catering facilities in the
stadium and the surrounding buildings, but the organisers were not convinced of the need for
them. The plan was finally accepted, given the probability that the Games participants would
eat several meals inside the stadium. In addition to the buffet facilities, a 500-seat restaurant
was set up in a tent for the Games.

ARCHITECTURE
Unlike the old stadium, which was oriented from west to east, the new one was oriented north
to south to maximise the amount of sunlight on the competition area in the afternoon and
protect the spectators from the wind. The shape of the stadium was dictated by that of the
500-metre cycle track: once that was established, the rest of the building was built around it.
The track was separated from the stands by a double balustrade, which protected spectators
and riders alike. In addition to the cycle track, the arena included a football pitch and a 400-
metre running track.

The stadium foundations consisted of 4,425 piles between 14 and 18 metres long. The
columns, beams and flooring of the building and the internal walls built between the columns
were made of reinforced concrete. The outer façade was a red-brick wall all around the
building, through which the internal framework can be seen. The visible concrete parts were
sandblasted.

The two lateral stands were protected by a steel roof, for which the fixing system was
designed to impede the spectators’ view as little as possible. The royal box was in the centre

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

of the western stand. A terrace of honour was built in front of the royal box to provide an area
where the winning athletes could be presented with their medals. The two roofless circular
stands offered seating at each end and standing places in the centre. Fourteen sets of stairs of
two different widths allowed the public to access the stands and leave the stadium in between
10 and 12 minutes 17.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
Given the marshy nature of the land provided by the city, 750,000 cubic metres cubes of sand
were used to raise and stabilise the ground.

The stadium was also surrounded by canals, the north and south Amstel, which were 30
metres wide. As a result, it was necessary to build quays and supporting walls, provide
moorings and include navigable waterways in the stadium plans.

The 46-metre high Marathon Tower was built on the esplanade outside, 20 metres from the
stadium, to break up the horizontal lines of the building. A symbolic fire burned at the top of the
tower during the Games. Beside the tower was the Marathon gate, a formal and decorative
entrance to the stadium opposite the royal box. Edged with flowers and coloured decorations,
this reinforced concrete gateway, covered with alternating bricks and glass, was topped by
four balconies. Access to the competition area was solely through this gateway and two
tunnels.

“In the simple repose of the building, which

seems spontaneously to rise up from the
groundplan […], the character of the Olympic
Games is revived: supple, muscular, airy and
festive, and at the same time dignified and
stately.”
P.W. Scharroo 18

AFTER THE GAMES

In 1937, a 60,000-seat stadium was built in Rotterdam. To ensure that the national team’s
football matches were still played in Amsterdam, the capacity of the Amsterdam stadium
therefore had to be increased. Wils added a concrete stand above the brick wall, which altered
the general aesthetics of the building.

The 1990s were particularly difficult for the building: the concrete additions were ageing badly,
and the stadium no longer met the standards in force. It narrowly avoided demolition thanks to
the investment of Dutch businessman Piet Kranenberg. The stadium was instead completely
renovated: the additional stand was removed, and the structure was renovated at a cost of
around 25 million florins.

When it reopened in 2000, it hosted events such as concerts, national and international
football matches, athletics competitions and even speed skating competitions. In addition,

17
In seven minutes according to Olympisch Stadion Amsterdam (1928).
18
Vice-President of the Amsterdam 1928 Organising Committee and former IOC member.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

private bodies such as television companies, sports clubs and sports equipment shops rent
premises throughout the year. Today, the stadium can hold 22,500 spectators. The building
and surrounding area are designed for leisure and culture, with access to parkland,
restaurants and museums.

DID YOU KNOW?

Jan Wils, the stadium architect, won first prize in the architectural design competition at
the Games in Amsterdam. The winning project was none other than the Olympic stadium
itself.

Building a car park close to the stadium was a key point for the organisers. As the
Netherlands is a country of cyclists, the organisers selected a plot behind the old stadium
to create parking for 2,000 bicycles as well as 3,500 cars.

SOURCES
‒ IXe Olympiade: Rapport officiel des Jeux de la IXe Olympiade, Amsterdam 1928,
Netherlands Olympic Committee, 1931, pp. 37, 97, 108, 112-115, 151, 173-183, 187, 188,
195, 197, 201, 206, 209, 211, 889.
‒ “Olympic Stadium Amsterdam”, iamsterdam.com website.
‒ Olympisch Stadion Amsterdam, Weenenk en Snel [ed.], 1928, n. p.
‒ P. W. Scharroo, “The Olympic Stadium”, Officieel feestnummer: Olympische spelen te
Amsterdam 1928, J. Mulder, Gouda [ed.], 1928, pp. 24-28.
‒ Ruud Paauw, “A Second Life: for the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Stadium”, Journal of
Olympic History, vol. 8, no. 3, September 2000, pp. 10-11.
‒ “Stadium and Arena” and “Events – Speedskating in the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam”,
website of the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium.
‒ Woojciech Zablocki, “Architecture Gold Medal: Jan Wils”, Journal of Olympic History, vol.
14, Special Edition, May 2006, p. 33.

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LOS ANGELES 1932

Work on the stadium (top) / The peristyle (bottom) Aerial view (top) / The Opening Ceremony (bottom)

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum right from the start. This name
was used during the Games as well as Olympic Stadium. United
Airlines Memorial Coliseum (as of 2019).

Location: 3911 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, USA

Status: In place and modified for the Games. Currently in use.

Designers: John and Donald Parkinson (architects)

Edwards, Wildey & Dixon Co. (contractor)

Cost: Construction of the original stadium in 1923: ~800,000 US dollars

Increase of stadium capacity in 1931: ~900,000 US dollars

Capacity: 105,000 spectators

Dimensions: ~324m long and 235m wide

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Additional information: 90 exit doors allowing the stadium to be emptied in 15 to

20 minutes

Construction: From 21 December 1921 to 1 May 1923

Development for the 1932 Games: from 24 February 1930 to
11 May 1931

Official opening: Opened in June 1923 19

Olympic events staged Athletics (including the start and finish of the marathon, but not
the 50km race walk), gymnastics, jumping in the equestrian
events (including eventing) and hockey matches.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
A former greyhound, horse and carriage racing track, the Exposition Park area had fallen into
disuse by 1910. With the aim of creating a recreational area in Los Angeles, the city bought
Exposition Park in February 1920 for 10,000 dollars and agreed to invest another 100,000
dollars in a 10-year improvement programme for the various buildings and facilities in the park.
In 1919, a stadium project was developed, and a nearby gravel pit was chosen as the site for
this. The city and county of Los Angeles built the stadium in partnership with the Community
Development Association.

As originally built, the stadium had a seating capacity of 75,000 (benches). However, nine
years after it was built, the city’s population had increased considerably, and it was already
considered too small. The Community Development Association, supported by the city, county
and local population, then asked for a one million-dollar fund to enlarge the stadium. This
funding was agreed in 1927 and the capacity was increased to 105,000. The additional stands
installed above the existing ones were made of reinforced concrete, and so blended in with the
original structure.

ARCHITECTURE
American football inspired the elliptic bowl shape which characterises the Coliseum. While its
architecture, with semi-circular arches and a covered passageway under a row of arcades,
demonstrates a certain Romanesque influence, its aesthetics were simple. For example, the
peristyle, the emblematic eastern entrance to the stadium, is made of concrete blocks, and the
façade has no ornamentation or decorative element specific to a particular architectural style.

For the Games, the athletics track, which was originally 450 yards (approximately 411.5
metres) was shortened to 400 metres to meet Olympic competition standards. Inside this was
an infield 207 metres long and 93 metres wide.

It was decided to build a concrete tower topped by a huge bronze cauldron at the top of the
central arch of the peristyle. This cauldron, which blends in with the rest of the building’s
architecture, was intended to hold a symbolic fire, which would burn from the Opening
Ceremony until the end of the Games.

19
Some sources also say that it was opened in May.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

A huge scoreboard measuring 6.7 by 13.4 metres was installed for the Games on the inside
wall of the peristyle, between the cauldron and the main arch. That way it could be seen by all
the spectators.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
The initial structure of the Memorial Coliseum did not include a dedicated stand for officials or
dignitaries. Such a stand was however built for the Games, to host the members of the IOC,
the officials from the National Olympic Committees and the International Federations, as well
as the guests. Access to this stand, located in the middle of the south side of the stadium by
the athletics track finish line, was by means of a walkway built over the stands under the
peristyle, which thereby avoided blocking the view of the spectators already seated.

“Truly the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

exemplifies a Living Memorial, for within its
gates have taken place the highest type of
athletic endeavors […].”
William H. Nicholas 20

AFTER THE GAMES

The Memorial Coliseum has been the home of the USC Trojans American football university
team since it opened. Between 1932 and 1984, the stadium also hosted numerous sporting
and historic events: American football (NFL) matches and two Super Bowl finals, the visits of
two US Presidents (John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon) and the US bicentennial
celebrations in 1976. Other NFL teams also play matches at the Coliseum: the Los Angeles
Rams (originally from Cleveland) and the Los Angeles Raiders (originally from Oakland).

The stadium was reused in 1984 for the Games of the XXIII Olympiad. It is also planned that
the Coliseum will host the athletics events and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies in 2028,
for the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad.

DID YOU KNOW?

The letters and figures on the scoreboard used during the Games were almost 70
centimetres high. The changes were made manually from behind the scoreboard, almost
30 metres above the ground.

When it was built, the stadium was dedicated to the Los Angeles County veterans who
had fought in the First World War. When the celebrations were held to mark the 50th
anniversary of the end of the War, it was decided that the stadium would henceforth be
dedicated to all American veterans of this War. A commemorative plaque was installed in
the stadium.

SOURCES
‒ Alfonso Cano Pintos, El estadio Olímpico, Sus fundamentos arquitectónicos, Juan Miguel
Hernández de León [dir.], Departamento de Proyectos Arquitectónicos, Escuela Técnica
Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, 2016, p. A-43.

20
General Manager of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

‒ Al Stump, “1932, the 'hopeless' dream of William May Garland”, Olympic Review, no. 274,
August 1990, pp. 381, 387.
‒ “Coliseum History”, website of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
‒ Dossier de candidature: Los Angeles ville candidate Jeux Olympiques 2024, étape 3:
Questionnaire de candidature: livraison des Jeux, expérience et héritage en termes de
sites Olympiques, Los Angeles Candidate City Olympic Games 2024, February 2017, pp.
10, 25.
‒ “Los Angeles 1932: California welcomes the world”, news, website of the International
Olympic Committee, 13 September 2017.
‒ “Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum”, website of LA Sports.
‒ Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games,
1959, n. p.
‒ “Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: The Story of an L.A. Icon”, website of Discover Los
Angeles.
‒ Official Report of the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad Los Angeles 1984, Los Angeles
Olympic Organizing Committee, 1985, vol. 1, p. 72.
‒ Olympic Countdown: 200 Days to go, Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, 1984,
p.127.
‒ “Stadium”, Encyclopaedia Britannica.
‒ The Games of the Xth Olympiad Los Angeles 1932: Official Report, Los Angeles Olympic
Organizing Committee, 1932, pp. 33-35, 63-67, 378.
‒ “The Los Angeles Coliseum: Dedicated to the United States Armed Forces Memorial”,
news, website of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 28 January 2016.
‒ The Story Behind the Largest and Finest Stadium in America, Los Angeles Memorial
Coliseum Commission, 1952, n. p.
‒ Thomas Schmidt, “Architecture at the service of Sport: the Olympic stadia in Los Angeles
and Berlin – part 2”, Olympic Review, no. 226, August 1986, pp. 466-468.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

BERLIN 1936

Aerial view of the stadium (top) / View of the Marathon Tor (bottom) View from the Glockenturm (top) / Columns in the outer façade (bottom)

OLYMPIASTADION

Name: The stadium has kept its name: Olympiastadion.

Location: Olympischer Platz 3, 14053 Berlin, Germany

Status: Built for the Games. Currently in use.

Designer: Werner March (architect)

Cost: -

Capacity: ~100,000 spectators

Dimensions: ~231 by 304m

Additional information: Circumference: ~ 840m, surface area: ~55,000m2.

Field dimensions: 105 by 70 m.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Construction: 1934-1936

Official opening: -

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the marathon and the
50km race walk), jumping in the equestrian events (including
eventing), football (semi-finals, bronze medal match and final)
and handball (last four matches).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies, plus other events, such as
The Festival Play, “Olympic Youth”, which followed the opening
and involved several thousand young participants.

THE PROJECT
With a view to submitting a Berlin candidature to host the 1936 Summer Games, studies were
carried out in 1928 on enlarging the Deutsches Stadion, a building completed in 1913 in the
Westend part of the city for the 1916 Olympic Games that were never held. When Berlin was
chosen to host the Games in 1931, the project, entrusted to architect Werner March, continued
to be developed until July 1933. At the same time as trying to limit costs, it was planned, in
particular, to increase the capacity of the existing stadium from 30,000 to 80,000. The solution
envisaged was to go deeper, as it was difficult to extend the building outwards due to the
presence of the racetrack next door. It was also planned to build a pool and extend the Sport
Forum, a series of sports facilities located close by. However, following a site visit in October
1933 by the new Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, the project took on a different scale and orientation.
A new stadium which could hold 100,000 spectators was built 148 metres east of the old
Deutsches Stadion, which was demolished along with the race track. The stadium became the
central feature of a sports complex entitled the Reichssportfeld 21, which covered 131
hectares.

ARCHITECTURE
The stands were divided into two elliptical rings. The lower ring extended 12.5 metres below
ground level, and the upper ring was 16.5 metres high. A large opening called the Marathon
Tor (marathon gate) was flanked by two towers. This was where the Olympic flame burned in
a tripod during the Games. On the opposite side, a scoreboard measuring 13 by 8.64 metres
dominated the eastern stand.

The stadium was positioned on a longitudinal axis stretching from the Olympische Strasse, a
realigned road to the east, to the 76-metre high Glockenturm (bell tower) 22, to the west. As a
result, when the main entrance was approached from the east, the various architectural
elements, including the Olympic rings suspended between two 48m towers, and a paved
square flanked by two rows of flags, were aligned thanks to the symmetrical effect created.

Access to the stadium was designed to allow 100,000 people to buy a ticket and go inside
within an hour. Other elements facilitated the movement of spectators, like the large empty
area around the stadium and the ground floor-level access gallery which separated the two
rings of the stands. In addition, underground passages allowed access to the stands of honour
and the competition area from outside, and linked the stadium to other facilities, like the pool to
the north.

21
Today, the Olympiapark Berlin.
22
Destroyed in 1947 and rebuilt between 1960 and 1962, the tower is today 77.17m high.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

PARTICULAR FEATURES
While the internal structures, ceilings and stands were built of reinforced concrete, natural
stone – Franconian limestone – was used for the visible parts like the façades. The outer
façade is composed of a colonnade of 136 pillars supporting the top of the stands. Although
the distance between them varies from 4.8 to 7.20 metres, the impression is one of regularity.
These architectural elements and the strict geometric shapes contribute to the neoclassical
style of the building.

AFTER THE GAMES

The Reichssportfeld was damaged during the Second World War. Used by the German army,
it was then occupied by British troops. The stadium was returned to the local authorities in
1949.

The stadium then underwent a number of modifications and renovations, such as a new
lighting system composed of four 88-metre masts in 1966 and roofing for part of the north and
south stands for the football World Cup in 1974. Between 2000 and 2006, major renovation
work was undertaken, which involved rebuilding the lower ring, lowering the competition area
by 2.65 metres in order to add two rows of seats and covering all the stands with a 42,000-
square metre roof. Weighing 3,500 tons, this is covered by a translucent membrane made of
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane, with glass at the edge. The roof included new
lighting and sound systems. In recognition, the gold medal of the IOC/IAKS Award and the
IPC/IAKS Distinction, both intended for sports and leisure facilities, were attributed to the
stadium in 2007, the former for its design and the latter for its functionality for people with
disabilities.

“A testament of history transported into a

modern era.”
Bernd Hettlage 23

The stadium has remained a sports arena. Each year, it hosts the Internationales Stadionfest
Berlin (ISTAF) athletics meeting. In 1963, Hertha BSC became the resident football club.
Since 1985, the stadium has hosted the German Cup Final in football. In 2006 and 2011, it
was used for the men’s and women’s football World Cup respectively. More recently, in 2018 it
hosted the European Athletics Championships. But the building also hosts other types of major
events, such as concerts.

DID YOU KNOW?

Air traffic was banned from the Olympic Games zone. Only one craft was allowed to fly
over the stadium on the day of the Opening Ceremony, the LZ-129 Hindenburg, one of the
biggest airships ever built.

SOURCES
‒ “1963-1980: Abenteuer Bundesliga”, website of the Hertha BSC.
‒ “2006 FIFA World Cup Germany - Matches” and “FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany
2011 – Groups”, website of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association.

23
Title of the concluding sub-chapter to Bernd Hettlage’s work (2010, p. 24), addressing the stadium’s fate in light of
its complex past.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

‒ “Berlin Olympiastadion to stage DFB Cup final through 2020”, news, website of the
Deutscher Fussball-Bund, 24 April 2014.
‒ Bernd Hettlage, Olympia Stadium Berlin, English Version, Stadtwandel Verlag, Berlin,
2010, pp. 6, 24.
‒ “Das ISTAF”, website of the Internationales Stadionfest Berlin.
‒ “History” and “Facts and Figures” sections, website of the Olympiastadion Berlin.
‒ “IPC/IAKS Distinction 2007 awarded”, Olympic Review, no. 64, July-September 2007, p.
23.
‒ Olympische Jugend Festspiel zum Aufführung im Olympia-Stadion am Eröffnungstage der
XI. Olympischen Spiele in Berlin, s. n., ca 1936, p. 23.
‒ “Olympic Stadium”, website of the Olympia-Glockenturm.
‒ The XIth Olympic Games Berlin, 1936: Official Report, W. Limpert, Berlin, 1937, vol. 1, pp.
41-42, 54-55, 58, 77, 130, 132-133, 135, 137-138, 141-145, 147, 149, 151, 154, 299,
vol. 2, pp. 882, 1048, 1065.
‒ Ulrich Rödiger, The Olympic Stadium Berlin: From the German Stadium to the
Reichssportfeld: Now the Home Stadium of Hertha BSC, Rödiger Verlag, Berlin, 1999,
p. 18.
‒ Werner March, “Le Reichssportfeld”, Jeux Olympiques: Organe officiel de la
XIe Olympiade à Berlin en 1936, no. 12, n. d., pp. 3-17.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

LONDON 1948

The Opening Ceremony of the Games (top) / Television cameras Aerial view of the stadium (top) / The crowd on Olympic Way (bottom)
(bottom)

EMPIRE STADIUM

Name: Originally called the British Empire Exhibition Stadium, and then
the Empire Stadium, the stadium then became Wembley
Stadium, its name today. It was also nicknamed the Twin Towers
Stadium.

Location: Wembley, HA9 0WS, London, United Kingdom

Status: Replaced by a new stadium which is currently in use.

Designers: Sir John William Simpson and Maxwell Ayerton (architects), Sir
Owen Williams (engineer)

Cost: 750,000 pounds sterling

Capacity: ~100,000 spectators

Dimensions: -

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Additional information: 250,000 tons of earth excavated to create the stadium bowl,
25,000 tons of concrete and 600 tons of steel rods for the stands.

Construction: 1922 – 1923

Official opening: 23 April 1924 by King George V (day of the official opening of the
British Empire Exhibition)

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the marathon and the
50km race walk), jumping from the equestrian events (but not
eventing), football and hockey (final, semi-finals and bronze
medal matches). The gymnastics events originally due to be held
in the stadium were moved to Empress Hall in Earls Court
because of the rainy weather.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
Demonstrations performed by 400 Swedish gymnasts and a
lacrosse demonstration match.

THE PROJECT
The Games were awarded to London in 1946. The city was recovering from the Second World
War, and means were limited. To have a stadium for the Games, the organisers assessed two
existing buildings, the White City Stadium in Shepherd’s Bush and the Empire Stadium in
Wembley. The latter was finally chosen. Completed in 1923, the Empire Stadium was used for
the FA Cup final that year. In 1924 and 1925, it was used for the British Empire Exhibition, a
major event focusing on the various parts of the Empire. In addition to football and rugby, after
1927 it hosted greyhound racing and, as of 1929, speedway races.

By the time of the 1948 Summer Games, the stadium, which had not held any athletics
competitions for 20 years, was adapted and improved. On the eastern side, a platform to hold
the cauldron for the Olympic flame was created, and a scoreboard was erected above the
stands. An athletics track was installed over the greyhound track, and a 100-metre warm-up
track was created outside the stadium. In addition, the photo finish equipment was moved
under the roof of the north stand, and the telephone facilities for the public were developed.
Access to the stadium was improved by the construction of Olympic Way, a new approach
road from the north, linked to Wembley Park underground station.

ARCHITECTURE
Oblong in shape and oriented from east to west, the stadium had stands covered by a metal
structure on each side, with no covering over those at each end. The external concrete façade
was composed of a succession of arches, with rectangular access towers along each curved
stand. The use of reinforced concrete allowed the building to be completed in barely 300 days.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
The outer façade of the north stand included two white square towers topped with a cupola
reminiscent of the Viceroy’s House in New Delhi 24. These 38-metre high towers became the
architectural emblems of the stadium, and were made Grade II listed buildings in 1976.

24
Now known as Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Indian President’s residence.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

« […] filling every seat and point of vantage,

we’ve got the most colourful crowd that
London’s seen for a very long time. »
Wynford Vaughan Thomas25

AFTER THE GAMES

An iconic temple of football and home of the England football team, Wembley hosted matches
and the finals of the World Cup and European Championship in 1966 and 1996 respectively. It
was also regularly the venue for other sports events such as rugby matches, and cultural
events such as concerts by major artists.

But over the years, the stadium lost its splendour, and the order to demolish it totally was
finally given. Closed in 2000 and demolished in 2003, the former Empire Stadium gave way to
a new stadium built in the same place. The rubble was used to create Northala Fields, a park
in north-west London. The top of one of the famous towers can also be seen in another park,
the Tokyngton Recreation Ground, around one kilometre from where it used to stand. The new
Wembley Stadium has a capacity of 90,000 seats. A 133-metre-high arch, which helps to hold
the roof, forms the new emblematic element of the site.

DID YOU KNOW?

When night fell as the javelin part of the decathlon was taking place, the stadium lighting
was found to be insufficient to illuminate the whole of the competition area. So the officials
had to use flashlights as well. This story gives an idea of the adaptability needed by the
Games organisers in the post-war austerity context.
Wanting to find the best solutions for the pitch of the new Wembley, specialists analysed
parameters such as the amount of sunshine and air temperature before the old stadium
was demolished in 2003. In the same way, the acoustics of the old stadium served as a
reference for the work on the new one.

SOURCES
‒ “1966 FIFA World Cup England - Matches”, website of the Fédération Internationale de
Football Association.
‒ Antonio Cunazza, “A Piece of The Old Wembley Stadium... Hidden In A North London
Park”, website of the Londonist, last updated 17 January 2018.
‒ Clare Balding, The Ration Book Olympics: When London hosted the Austerity Games,
Audio Go, 2012 (audio CD).
‒ François Duboisset, Frédéric Viard, Lieux et stades mythiques, les stades, les circuits, les
terrains, les courts, Éditions De Vecchi, Paris, p. 49.
‒ « Greenford parks - Northala Fields », website of the Ealing Council.
‒ “History – Euro 96 matches”, website of the Union of European Football Associations.
‒ Kenneth Powell, “Wembley – Myth or Monument ?”, Sport – Stätten – Kultur: Historische
Sportanlagen und Denkmalpflege: International Fachtagung des Deutschen
Nationalkomitees von ICOMOS und des Landesdenkmalamts Berlin im Deutschen
Sportforum auf dem Olympia-Gelände in Berlin, 15.-17. November 2001, ICOMOS-Hefte
des Deutschen Nationalkomitees XXXVIII, Karl M. Lipp Verlag, München, 2002, p. 66.

25
Commentating on the Opening Ceremony for BBC Radio.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

‒ Olympic Games London 1948: Official Souvenir, Futura, London, 1948, p. 22.
‒ Patrick Barclay & Kenneth Powell, Wembley Stadium Venue of Legends, Munich, Prestel,
2007, pp. 35-36, 176.
‒ Road Sheard, “Landmark Design”, Panstadia, vol. 13, no. 3, spring 2007, pp. 87-89.
‒ “Stats and Facts”, website of the Wembley Stadium.
‒ “The History of Wembley Stadium”, press release, website of the Wembley Stadium, 25
April 2013.
‒ The Official Report of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad, London, 1951, pp.
42, 44-46, 51, 58, 84, 88, 95, 532-534 and n. p.
‒ The Report of the Chairman of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad, London,
1948 to the International Olympic Committee, September 1946, p. 3 (IOC Archives).
‒ “The Venues – No.1: The Story of Wembley”, Olympic Newsletter, Press Department of
the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad, no. 3, September 1947, pp. 2-3.
‒ Thomas Schmidt, “Olympic stadiums from 1948 to the present day – The architects (Final
part)”, Olympic Review, no. 249, August 1988, p. 377.

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HELSINKI 1952

Aerial view of the stadium (top) / A passageway (bottom) The stadium seen from outside (top) / The inside of the stadium
(bottom)

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Olympic Stadium

Location: Paavo Nurmen tie 1, Helsinki, Finland

Status: Created with a view to hosting the Games. Currently in use.

Designers: Yrjö Lindegren and Toivo Jäntti (architects)

Cost: -

Capacity: 70,470 spectators

Dimensions: 243m long and 159m wide

Additional information: Infield dimensions: 104 by 65.5 metres

Construction: 1934 – 1939

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Official opening: 12 June 1938

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the marathon and the
50km race walk), football matches (especially the semi-finals, the
bronze medal match and the final), and jumping in the equestrian
events (but not eventing).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
An outdoor handball match between Sweden and Denmark, a
Finnish baseball (pesäpallo) match and gymnastics
performances were held as demonstrations.

THE PROJECT
As noted by Erik V. Frenckell 26, it was the Finnish sports leaders’ desire to host the Games
that lay behind the building of the Olympic stadium in Helsinki. This desire was fuelled
particularly by the outstanding Olympic performances by Finnish athletes in the 1910s and
1920s. A foundation with the goal of building the stadium was created in 1927 27. In 1931,
Helsinki was one of the cities bidding to host the Olympic Summer Games in 1936, which were
awarded to Berlin. Two years later, in 1933, an architecture competition was held to design the
stadium, and construction began the following year. Although work on the east stand did not
finish until 1939, the stadium was inaugurated already in 1938. In the same year, Helsinki took
over the hosting of the 1940 Summer Games after Tokyo dropped out. But the Second World
War prevented the Games from being held. It was finally in 1947 that Helsinki was chosen to
host the Summer Games in 1952.

For the Games, the stadium capacity was increased from around 50,000 to 70,000 thanks to
the construction of temporary wooden stands on the east, north and south sides. Among the
other structures added for the Games were an electric scoreboard and temporary changing
rooms for the female athletes. To improve visibility, the athletics track was moved towards the
centre of the infield on the west side of the stadium. The surface of the track and the throwing
areas were also improved.

ARCHITECTURE
With its pure lines, ribbon windows and rendered concrete walls, the stadium shows the
influences of modern and functionalist architecture. The stadium has an oblong shape and a
north-south orientation. A flat roof supported partly by a series of pillars sits on the external
façade of the western stand which it covers.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
A tower joined to the west façade of the stadium is 72 metres high. Although originally
intended to serve as a landmark for the marathon runners, it quickly became a symbolic
monument. The decision to include it on the Games emblem therefore proved a smart move
by the Organising Committee. The top of the tower was chosen as the place for the Olympic
flame to burn.

26
The Helsinki Olympic Games Organising Committee President, who signed an introductory text in the Official Report
published by the Organising Committee (p. 13).
27
Date which appears on the website of the Stadium Foundation (Stadion-säätiö). The Official Report gives the date
as 1928 (p. 13).

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

“Representing functionalism, the Olympic

Stadium is one of the internationally best
known buildings in Helsinki.”
Ritva Viljanen 28

AFTER THE GAMES

The Helsinki Olympic Stadium hosted the World Athletics Championships in 1983 and 2005,
and the European Athletics Championships in 1971, 1994 and 2012. The home of the Finnish
football team, it also hosts other football matches, like the one between local club HJK and FC
Barcelona in 2014, and the Women’s European Championships matches in 2009. The building
also hosts numerous major concerts. In addition, it is home to the Sports Museum of Finland,
which was opened to the public in 1943, and contains a library and archives.

Between 1952 and 2016, the stadium underwent several transformations, such as the
installation of permanent wood cladding on the façades and reducing the seating capacity to
around 40,000. For the World Athletics Championships in 2005, an unexposed steel roof was
built for the east stand, facing the one covering the west stand. In 2016, a further stadium
renovation was started, aimed at making it more multifunctional. This modernisation includes
providing a roof for all the stands, replacing the seating, renewing the competition area and
reconfiguring and extending the usable areas of the buildings.

DID YOU KNOW?

There were already plans for an electric scoreboard for the cancelled 1940 Games in
Helsinki, and these finally became a reality for the Games in 1952. Measuring 12 metres
across and 5.5 metres high and placed in the north stand, the scoreboard was composed
of eight lines of 25 characters. With 35 lightbulbs per character, the total number for the
whole scoreboard was 7,000.
As part of the art competitions of the 1948 Games in London, Yrjö Lindegren, one of the
architects of the Helsinki stadium, won first prize in the architecture town planning
category for his athletics centre project for Varkaus in Finland.

SOURCES
‒ “2006-09 Matches”, website of the Union of European Football Associations.
‒ Alan Bairner, “The Legacy of Memory, The Stockholm and Helsinki Olympic stadia as
living memorials”, Routledge handbook of Sport and Legacy, Meeting the challenge of
major sports events, chapter 8, Richard Holt and Dino Ruta [ed.], Routledge, 2015, p. 127.
‒ “European Athletics Championships – History”, website of European-Athletics.
‒ “Helsinki Olympic Stadium”, website of the Stadion-säätiö / Olympiastadion (The Stadium
Foundation / Olympic Stadium).
‒ “IAAF World Championships – History – Archive of past events”, website of the
International Association of Athletics Federations.
‒ “Le HJK Hèlsinki, rival du FC Barcelone en pré-saison”, website of the FC Barcelona, 23
May 2014.
‒ “New Canopy for the Helsinki Olympic Stadium”, website of K2S Architects.
‒ “Olympic Stadium”, navi.finnisharchitecture.fi website.

28
Deputy Mayor of Helsinki, in charge of cultural affairs in 2014.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

‒ “Olympic Stadium towards new era”, Youtube channel of the Stadion-säätiö /

Olympiastadion, Helsinki, video published on 14 October 2015.
‒ « The Olympic Stadium towards a new era », website of the City of Helsinki, 5 December
2014.
‒ The official report of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad, Organising
Committee for the XIV Olympiad, London, 1951, p. 535.
‒ The official report of the Organising Committee for the Games of the XV Olympiad, Sulo
Kolkka [ed.], Porvoo ; Helsinki: W. Söderström, 1955, pp. 13, 15, 44-45, 67-68, 111, 172,
306, 697.

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MELBOURNE 1956

Aerial view of the stadium (top) / Opening Ceremony (bottom) Closing Ceremony (top) / The Olympic flame in the stadium (bottom)

MAIN STADIUM

Name: Melbourne Cricket Ground, often known by its abbreviation,

MCG.

Location: Brunton Avenue, in the current East Melbourne neighbourhood,

Melbourne, Australia

Status: Already in existence and partly renovated for the Games.

Currently in use.

Designer: Arthur W. Purnell (architect of the new stand)

Cost: 535,000 Australian pounds (for the new stand)

Capacity: 104,000 spectators

Dimensions: Competition area: 171m long and 146m wide 29

29
Dimensions in 2010.

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Additional information: -

Construction: 1853-1854
New stand: spring 1954 to June 1956

Official opening: First cricket match played in the stadium: 30 September 1854.

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the marathon and the
50km race walk), and the football and hockey competition finals
and semi-finals.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
In 1853, the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) learned that the country’s first railway line would
be built across its training ground, and that it would therefore have to find a new site. On 23
September of that year, the Governor of the State of Victoria offered the MCC the choice
between three new sites. The club chose the site of what is today the Melbourne Sports and
Entertainment Precinct, located around a mile east of the city centre, for its new stadium, the
Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which is still there today.

It was decided in 1952, mainly for financial reasons, that the imposing MCG would be used as
the main stadium for the Olympic Summer Games in 1956. As a result of this decision, a plan
to make the stadium renovations needed to host the Games was quickly developed. The work
included hiring an architect to produce the plans for replacing the oldest stands, levelling the
ground, which had a 2.4-metre height difference between the north and south sides, and then
putting new turf down.

ARCHITECTURE
When originally built, the stadium consisted solely of a training ground and a pavilion. Other
pavilions were built and then demolished over the years, as were the covered stands, which
were built in several stages and finally encircled almost the whole stadium.

By the time of the Games, the MCG was circular in shape, and the structure built mainly of
steel. The oldest stand, on the north side of the stadium, was replaced by a three-tier concrete
structure with a capacity of 40,000. A number of men’s and women’s changing rooms were
created under this structure.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
Being used solely for cricket and Australian football, the stadium had no athletics track. So for
the Olympic Games, the foundations for a track were laid in November 1955, before being
covered in grass for the Australian football winter season. The football matches allowed the
base of the track to be consolidated. The final layer of the 400-metre track was installed
between September and October 1956. The whole track was then taken up after the Games
so that cricket could be played once more.

The scoreboard was originally designed to show scores for cricket and Australian football. It
therefore had to be converted to be able to show all the results of the Olympic competitions:
270 blocks of electric lightbulbs allowing the necessary figures and letters to be formed
replaced the old system.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

“The MCG is inanimate in its concrete, brick

and metal parts, organic and living in its
whole.”
Greg Baum 30

AFTER THE GAMES

The MCG remained Melbourne’s main stadium until 2000, when the Colonial Stadium (later
renamed the Telstra Dome) was built, offering 53,400 seats and a sliding roof. To avoid losing
many of its sports events to the new Telstra Dome, the MCG had no choice but to renovate its
facilities. The work was performed between 2004 and 2006, and included the building of a new
roof over the stands, restoration of the competition area, and the merger and modification of
certain stands. For example, the stand created for the 1956 Games and the ones next to it
were demolished to make way for a large north stand. After these modifications, the stadium
capacity was 101,000. The south stand, opened in 1992 with a capacity of 45,000, was
modernised in 2012 to meet the same standards as the north stand.

In more than 165 years of existence, as well as the usual cricket and Australian football
matches, the MCG has hosted numerous other sporting and cultural events, including some of
the matches of the football tournament for the 2000 Games in Sydney, concerts and
international rugby and baseball matches. For the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne,
the MCG hosted 10 athletics sessions in addition to the opening and closing ceremonies.

DID YOU KNOW?

During the Second World War, the MCG was requisitioned from 1942 to 1945 by the
Commonwealth government for military use: it was occupied by the US Air Force and
Marine Corps, as well as the Royal Australian Air Force.

SOURCES
‒ Bulletin Officiel XVI Olympiade, Organizing Committee for the Games of the XVI
Olympiad, no. 1, December 1953, p. 5 ; no. 2, March 1954, p. 2 ; no. 9, December 1955,
p. 5.
‒ Greg Baum, “A living treasure”, The Age, 24 September 2003.
‒ “History”, its subsections “In the beginning”, “Grandstands”, “Olympic Games”, “Second
World War”, “Commonwealth Games”, “Concerts”, and the “MCG Historical Timeline”,
website of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
‒ “Melbourne Cricket Ground”, website of AUStadium.
‒ “Melbourne Cricket Ground: Victorian Heritage Database Report”, Heritage Council
Victoria, update 20 December 1996, pp. 11, 12.
‒ Official report of the XXVII Olympiad: Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, 15 September - 1
October 2000, SOCOG, Sydney, 2001, vol.1, p 118.
‒ Steve Menary, “Ground Force”, Panstadia, vol. 12, no. 4, May 2006, pp. 14-19.
‒ The Official Report of the Organizing Committee for the Games of the XVI Olympiad
Melbourne 1956, Organizing Committee for the Games of the XVI Olympiad, 1958, pp. 39,
40, 85, 148, 224, 264.
‒ Thomas Schmidt, “Building a stadium: Olympic stadiums from 1948 to 1988 (part 1)”,
Olympic Review, no. 247, June 1988, pp. 247, 249, 251.

30
Australian sports journalist.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

ROME 1960

Aerial view of the Olympic stadium (top) / View from the stands View of the stadium from the stands (top and bottom)
(bottom)

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Stadio olimpico, previously Stadio dei Cipressi (until 1953) and then
Stadio dei Centomila (until 1960)

Location: Via Foro Italico, Rome, Italy

Status: Built with a view to hosting the Games. Currently in use.

Designers: Annibale Vitellozzi (architect), Cesare Valle (engineer) and Carlo

Roccatelli (professor).

Cost: 3,400,000,000 lira (transformations for the Games)

Capacity: 90,000 spectators

Dimensions: 319m long and 186m wide, 20.5m high (at the top of the radio booth).
Surface area of 90,000m2 and stadium perimeter of 1,300m.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Additional information: 130,000m3 of masonry, 572 seats reserved for journalists.

Construction: 28 December 1950 to May 1953

Official opening: 17 May 1953 for the Hungary-Italy football match

Events during the Games: Athletics (except, for the first time, for the marathon, for which the
course was entirely in the city) and the team jumping competition in
equestrianism (but not including eventing).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
Rome developed a project to host the Olympic Games in 1944. These were finally awarded to
London but were not held because of the Second World War. The Stadio dei Cipressi,
designed by architect Enrico Del Debbio, was used as a car park by the Italian army during the
war. From 1950, with a view to obtaining the Games, the Italian National Olympic Committee
(CONI) tasked Professor Carlo Roccatelli and architect Annibale Vitellozzi with building a new
stadium. It was located in the centre of the Foro Italico, a huge sports complex opened in 1932
as the Foro Mussolini. Situated in the hills behind the Monte Mario, this natural setting is easily
accessible as it has good links with the transport infrastructure.

On 15 June 1955, Rome was chosen as the host city of the 1960 Summer Games, and the
Stadio dei Centomila had been ready since May 1953. As the main facility for the Olympic
Games, the stadium name was changed as its capacity was reduced slightly (from 100,000 to
90,000) and as of 1960, it was named Stadio Olimpico.

ARCHITECTURE
The shape of the Olympic Stadium was in keeping with the pre-war architectural standards:
almost rectangular in the centre, with semi-circles at each end. Above the metallic structures,
the stadium was covered with travertine, a locally quarried rock.

For the Games, the architect, Annibale Vitellozzi, created numerous access points to facilitate
spectator flow, in particular 10 gates providing quick access to the four main stands (the south
bend, the Monte Mario stand containing the official stand, the north stand and the Tevere
stand). All the stands had wooden seats, and the standing places were eliminated to improve
spectator comfort. To allow the athletes to enter and leave the stadium easily, two
underground tunnels connected to the outside were built.

Particular attention was paid to the press stand, with a room for teleprinters and 54 telephones
for local and international calls. In addition, an iron structure 80 metres long with 40 booths
was built for the principal television commentators.

A heating system with five boilers provided heating and hot water, in particular for the 12
groups of changing rooms, which could accommodate up to 1,500 athletes at the same time.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

“The most beautiful stadium in the world.”

Ennio Viero 31

PARTICULAR FEATURES
The field, the track and the other athletics facilities were equipped with a drainage system
which, combined by the underground irrigation system, allowed the necessary humidity to be
maintained, even during the summer. For security reasons in the stadium, to dissuade
spectators from trying to reach the competition area, the athletics track was separated from
the stands by a ditch two metres wide and 1.90 metres deep, inspired by the one in the
Colosseum.

AFTER THE GAMES

After the Olympic Games, the city’s two biggest football clubs, AS Roma and SS Lazio,
continued to alternate playing their home matches in the stadium. The stadium also hosted
matches by the Italian national team, as well as the finals of the European Championships in
1968 and 1980, and the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina in 1990, for which
some initial renovation work was needed. More recently, the 2009 Champions League final
between Manchester United and FC Barcelona was played in the Olympic stadium. This
required some refitting of the interior, to meet the UEFA standards. Today the stadium
capacity is 72,698 in football configuration. In addition to football matches, an athletics meeting
is held each year in May, and the Italian rugby team plays in the stadium, especially for the Six
Nations tournament between February and March each year. The stadium is also used for
non-sporting events, in particular rock, jazz and pop music concerts.

DID YOU KNOW?

If placed end to end, the rows of seats would stretch for more than 30 kilometres.

SOURCES
‒ Andrea Bruschi, Citta e olimpiadi: Roma 1960 – Barcelona 1992 – Beijing 2008 – London
2012, Edizioni nuova cultura, 2011, pp. 42-45.
‒ Arrigo Gattai, Memmo Caporilli, Il foro Italico e lo Stadio Olimpico: immagini della storia,
Tomo Edizioni, Roma, 1990, p. 285.
‒ Corey Brennan, “The 1960 Rome Olympics: Spaces and spectacle”, Rethinking Matters
Olympic: Investigations into the Socio-cultural Study of the Modern Olympic Movement:
Tenth International Symposium for Olympic Research, October 2010, pp. 17-29.
‒ “Olympic centre of ʺForo Italicoʺ”, Bulletin du Comité International Olympique, no. 62, May
1958, pp. 32-33.
‒ “The new stadium in Rome”, Bulletin du Comité International Olympique, no. 37, January
1953, p. 17.
‒ Marcello Garroni, The Games of the XVII Olympiad Rome 1960: The Official Report of the
Organizing Committee, 1963, vol. 1, pp. 25, 55, 56 et 57.
‒ “News from Italy – Inauguration of the new Olympic Stadium at Rome”, Bulletin du Comité
International Olympique, no. 39-40, June 1953, p. 25.
‒ Roma per le Olimpiadi, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, Rome, 1954.
‒ Thomas Schmidt, “Building a stadium: Olympic stadiums from 1948 to 1988 (part 1)”,
Olympic Review, no. 247, June 1988, pp. 249-251.

31
Italian sports journalist.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

TOKYO 1964

The east stand and the Olympic cauldron (top) / The external façade Aerial view of the stadium (top) / Athletics track irrigation system
(bottom) (bottom)

NATIONAL STADIUM

Name: Also simply nicknamed “kokuritsu”, which means national.

Location: 10-2 Kasumigaoka-machi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Status: Created with a view to hosting the Asian Games and the Olympic
Games. Replaced by a new stadium for the Olympic Summer
Games 2020.

Designers: Kanto District Bureau of the Construction Ministry (project), Taisei

Construction Company (constructor)

Cost: First stage (1957-1958): 1.4 billion yen

Extension (1962-1963): 1.2 billion yen

Capacity: ~72,000 spectators

Dimensions: 213m wide and 262m long

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Additional information: 26,437m2 (surface area of the stands), 26,991m2 (surface area of
the building)

Construction: First stage: January 1957 to March 1958

Extension: March 1962 to August 1963 32

Official opening: -

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the marathon and the
50km and 20km race walks); three matches in the football
tournament (including the final and the bronze-medal match); and
the equestrian jumping (not including the eventing).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
In 1955, as part of its candidature for the Games of the XVII Olympiad in 1960, the city
planned to build a “national stadium” in the outer gardens of the Meiji Shrine in the ward of
Shinjuku. This would replace the existing athletics stadium, which had an estimated capacity
of 35,000 and had hosted, among other things, the Meiji Shrine National Sports Festival
between 1924 and 1942.

The initial construction phase envisaged a stadium for approximately 50,000 spectators, with a
view to hosting the third Asian Games in 1958. A second extension to increase the capacity to
100,000 had already been planned for the 1960 Summer Games, which were ultimately
awarded to Rome. When Tokyo bid for and was chosen to host the 1964 Summer Games, the
extension project for the stadium remained on the table, although the planned future capacity
was reduced to 72,000. The additional number of seats was obtained by increasing the height
of the stands, mainly on the east side of the stadium. Improvement work was carried out on
the competition area and at the access points. Through the staging of the Olympic Games and
with the stadium as its centrepiece, the Meiji sports complex – which contained other major
facilities such as the Metropolitan Indoor Swimming Pool, where the Olympic water polo
competition was held – continued its development.

ARCHITECTURE
The stadium was elliptical in shape, with a roof covering the stands on the west side, which
included a royal box. In the east section, the enlargement of the stands saw them built up into
a crescent shape; a configuration chosen in particular for aesthetic reasons. The east part also
featured four 50 metre-high floodlights that stood towering over the stands, which themselves
reached 31 metres at their highest point. An underground passage connected the changing
rooms to the competition area. The stadium included an electronic scoreboard approximately
34 metres wide and 11 metres high, and an irrigation system for the track. The stadium was
built of ferro-concrete with a partial steel-framed structure.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
Among the facilities installed in the areas beneath the stands was a covered swimming pool
with six lanes.

32
Information taken from vol. 1, p. 119 of the Official Report, which also gives other dates: from 27.02.1962 to
30.06.1963 (p. 41, 533) and from March 1962 to August 1964 (p. 52).

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

« [The National Stadium] has hosted

numerous unforgettable matches and
competitions, and has a special place in the
hearts of people all over Japan. »
Yoshiro Mori 33
AFTER THE GAMES
The stadium remained a key part of Japanese sport, hosting a wealth of national and
international sports events. It was used, for example, to stage numerous editions of the Japan
Championships in Athletics and, from the mid-1960s, the final of the football Emperor’s Cup.
Between 1975 and the start of the 2000s, it also hosted the final of the All-Japan Rugby
Football Championship, a national rugby tournament. In 1993, the inaugural match of the J-
League, the professional football championship in Japan, took place in the National Stadium.
As for international competitions, the 1967 Summer Universiade and the 1991 World
Championships in Athletics were held in the National Stadium, as were a number of matches
at the FIFA World Youth Championship, including the final, in 1979.

In 2014, the building was knocked down to make way for a new stadium ahead of the Olympic
Games Tokyo 2020.

DID YOU KNOW?

The process to select the lawn for the field took several years. Ultimately, it was a
specially selected variety of Japanese lawn type called “Hime-Korai” that was used.
In order to avoid crowd congestion after the Opening Ceremony, the organisers tried to
encourage the significant numbers of spectators both inside and outside the stadium to
leave in waves. To do this, they arranged for a musical performance to take place inside
the stadium and put on a firework display outside. The strategy worked, with part of the
crowd staying for longer, and so it was repeated for the Closing Ceremony.

SOURCES
‒ “FIFA World Youth Championship Japan 1979 - Matches”, website of the Fédération
Internationale de Football Association.
‒ James Singleton, “Closing the Gates on Japan’s Symbolic National Stadium”, nippon.com
website, 2 May 2014.
‒ Les Jeux de la XVIIIe olympiade, Tokyo 1964: rapport officiel du comité organisateur, The
Organizing Committee for the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, Tokyo, 1966, vol. 1, pp. 41,
52, 116-120, 187, 464, vol. 2, pp. 74, 80, 330, 577.
‒ Réponses au questionnaire au sujet des Jeux de 1964, s. n., Tokyo, 1958, p. 10.
‒ Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Governement, Tokyo, 1955, pp. 6-8.
‒ Tokyo Olympics: Official Souvenir, 1964, Dentsu Inc., Tokyo, 1964, p. 126.
‒ “Tokyo 2020 says “Sayonara” to the National Stadium”, news, website of the International
Paralympic Committee, 31 May 2014.
‒ XVIII Olympiad, Asahi, Osaka, 1964, p. 90.
‒ « 国立競技場の歴史 », website of the Japan Sport Council.

33
President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, speaking in May 2014 as part of the farewell ceremony for the
stadium before its demolition.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

MEXICO 1968

Aerial view of the stadium (top) / The west stand and the viewing Opening of the Games (top) / Bas-relief designed by D. Rivera and the
platform (bottom) façade (bottom).

UNIVERSITY CITY OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Simply called the “University City Stadium” during Mexico City’s
candidature for the 1968 Summer Games, the word “Olympic”
was subsequently used.

Location: Campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico,

Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico

Status: Existing venue, enhanced for the Games. In use today.

Designers: Original structure: Augusto Pérez Palacios, Jorge Bravo, Raúl

Salinas
Development work for the Games: Augusto Pérez Palacios
(project lead) and a group of architects

Cost: Original structure: 28 million Mexican pesos

Capacity: 83,700 spectators

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

Dimensions: Enclosed in a circumference of approximately 125m radius

Additional information: The stadium covers a surface area of over 57,000m2. Some 877
tonnes of steel, 11,570m3 of concrete or asphalt, 2,200m of
terracotta pipes and 6,937m3 of drywall were used to upgrade the
stadium for the Games.

Construction: 1950 - 1952

Official opening: 20 November 1952, on the occasion of the 2nd National Youth
Games and with Mexican President Miguel Alemán Valdés in
attendance. 34

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the finish of the marathon), equestrian team
jumping (not including the eventing).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
The stadium was one of the first pieces of infrastructure built for the new National Autonomous
University of Mexico (UNAM), developed between 1949 and 1952 in the south of Mexico City.
It served, in particular, as a venue for the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1954
and for the Pan-American Games in 1955. The stadium was presented in Mexico City’s
candidature for the 1960 Games, which were ultimately awarded to Rome, and its candidature
for the 1968 Games.

Substantial improvement work was carried out for the Games, including the addition of four
new 45m-high floodlights. Structures on which to place the Olympic cauldron were erected at
the top of the stand on the east side, and a huge electronic scoreboard was installed, towering
over the north stand. The seats in the stands were replaced. New boxes and additional areas
and facilities, including changing rooms, were built, as was a bridge linking the stadium to
some of the training grounds. The viewing platform for the press, which overlooked the west
stand, was extended by 20 per cent. A new lawn was laid on the competition area, equipped
with a drainage system. In addition, the athletics track was expanded to include eight lanes
and surfaced with a newly invented material, “Tartan”. The stadium capacity was increased
from 70,000 to 83,700.

ARCHITECTURE
The stadium was designed in an imposing oval shape, with the east and west stands – which
were thought to offer the best view as they were located on either side of the field of play –
expanded significantly in order to seat the majority of spectators. Mexico City’s 1968 Summer
Games candidature files likened the stadium’s shape to that of a tortoise, or the fishing nets
typically used on Lake Pátzcuaro. As renowned artist Diego Rivera – who designed the bas-
relief on the outer façade – noted, the stadium also resembles a crater, reminiscent of those
found in the volcanoes located in the region. Moreover, the façades of the stadium were built
from volcanic rock; the area on which the university campus was developed is made up of
large volcanic rock deposits. The field of play is below ground level, with entrances providing
access to two tiers of stands which surround the complex. To achieve this sunken effect, the

34
This is the date given in the sources consulted, except for the Official Report published by the Organising
Committee, which mentions the year 1953 (vol. 2, p. 76). This would also match with the official opening ceremony of
the campus.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

stadium designers made use of a cavity in the ground, and the earth extracted during the
excavation works was used to create the raised foundations for the stands. The stadium is
surrounded by a wide square and can be evacuated in approximately 15 minutes.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
There are no stairs to enter the stadium from the outside; it can be accessed only via ramps,
with a gradient of up to 13 per cent, and around 40 tunnels of 8 to 60 metres in length.

« But this structure is not imitative. It is

creative in true sense and will take its place
among the great works of Architecture of today
and tomorrow. »
Frank Lloyd Wright 35

AFTER THE GAMES

The stadium has hosted a number of major sporting events. For the second time in its history,
it served as a venue for the Pan-American Games in 1975 and the Central American and
Caribbean Games in 1990. In 1979, it was used for the 10th Universiade, organised by the
International University Sports Federation (FISU). It has also been used for athletics meets
and as the location of the finish line for the Mexico City International Marathon. Moreover,
national and international football matches are held there on a regular basis. The Mexico
national football team played there in the 1950s and 60s, and in 1986 the stadium hosted
matches during the World Cup. It is also the home stadium of the UNAM football and
American football teams, the Pumas. Its capacity has been revised downwards, mainly for
security reasons. In 2018 for example, for matches in the Ligua MX – the top Mexican football
league – the stadium capacity was given as 48,297.

DID YOU KNOW?

To mark the Olympic Games, a succession of colourful, rippling lines with concentric
patterns – based on the Games visual identity – were painted in the large square
surrounding the stadium.
In 2007, the campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico – and by extension
the stadium, located on the campus – was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO,
which aims to identify and preserve natural or cultural sites of outstanding universal value
for humanity at the global level. The university site, which incorporates aspects of local
pre-Hispanic culture, is regarded as a remarkable example of 20th-century modernism.

SOURCES
‒ “1986 FIFA World Cup MexioTM, 31 May - 29 June, Matches”, website of the Fédération
Internationale de Football Association.
‒ Augusto Pérez Palacios, Estadio Olímpico, Ciudad Universitaria, México, Opiniones sobre
el estadio, de arquitectos famosos internacionalmente (facsimiles), Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México, Dirección general de publicaciones, Mexico, 1963, n. p.

35
American architect.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

‒ “Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

(UNAM)”, Description, World Heritage List, website of the UNESCO World Heritage
Centre.
‒ “Estadio”, website of the Club Universidad Nacional, A.C. – Pumas.
‒ “Estadio Olímpico 68, un lugar hecho historia”, website of Fundacíon UNAM, 20
November 2015.
‒ “Estadio Olímpico Universitario”, website of the Liga MX.
‒ “Estadio Olímpico Universitario, ícono de la arquitectura nacional y casa de Los Pumas”,
Boletín UNAM-DGCS-800, website of the Dirección General de Comunicación Social
UNAM, 20 Novembre 2016.
‒ Lourdes Cruz González Franco, “El Estadio Olímpico Universitario del Pedregal.
Permanencia y vigencia”, Bítacora Arquitectura, Facultad de Arquitectura, section
“Revistas UNAM”, website of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2010, p. 38.
‒ Manuel Porrúa [dir.], La ciudad de Mexico presenta su candidatura para la organización
de los Juegos Olímpicos de 1960, J. J. Arreola, Mexico, 1955, n. p.
‒ Mexico: Demande, Requests, Solicita - XIX Jeux Olympiques, Olympic Games, Juegos
Olímpicos, Consejo de Preparación para la Candidatura de México a los XIX Juegos
Olímpicos, Mexico, 1963, pp. 74-75, 198.
‒ Mexico 68, Organising Committee of the Games of the XIX Olympiad, Mexico, 1969,
vol. 2, p. 76, 108, 325, vol. 2 Suplemento, p. 145.
‒ Mexico 68: Communiqué olympique, Comité organizador de los Juegos de la XIX
Olimpiada, departamento de publicaciones, no. 11, n. d., n. p.
‒ Mexico 68: Pictoral Review, Comité organizador de los Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada,
departamento de publicaciones, no. 5, The Olympic Stadium at University City, n. d., p. 5.
‒ World Heritage Information Kit, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), World Heritage Convention,
2008, p. 3.
‒ Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Central de la Ciudad Universitaria,
Technical file for the nomination of Campus Central de la Ciudad Universitaria de la
UNAM for inscription in the UNESCO World Heritage List, Mexico, December 2005, pp.
123, 147.

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MUNICH 1972

Construction of the stands (top) / Inside of the stadium (bottom) View of the stadium (top) / Transparent roof (bottom)

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Olympic Stadium

Location: Spiridon-Louis-Ring, Munich, Germany

Status: Built for the Games. In use today.

Designers: Günter Behnisch and Associates (architects)

Cost: ~145 million Deutsche marks (including the roof, which cost 55
million)

Capacity: ~80,000 spectators

Dimensions: 260m long and 245m wide

Additional information: The stands on the east stand were built from 24,000m of poured
concrete. Some 1,280 pre-cast steps, up to 16m in length, were

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

mounted on 34m-high frames of site-cast concrete, which were

used to build the stands on the west side.

Construction: 1968 – 1972

Official opening: 26 May 1972 (football match between the Federal Republic of
Germany and the USSR)

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the marathon and the
20km and 50km race walks); start and finish of the running event
in the pentathlon; matches in the football tournament, including
the final and the bronze-medal match; equestrian team jumping
(not including the eventing).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
On 6 September, a memorial service was held in tribute to the
victims of the hostage-taking one day earlier, in which 11
members of the Israeli delegation and one police officer were
killed.

THE PROJECT
The staging of the Games and the creation of an Olympic Park – on a 280-hectare plot of
empty land in the Oberwiesenfeld area, around four kilometres to the north-west of the city –
allowed Munich to bring a number of different objectives to fruition. These included building a
large stadium, which the city lacked and which had been part of a long-term aim; addressing a
lack of sports university infrastructure; and providing the inhabitants with recreational areas
and greenery.

A holistic approach was therefore taken with regard to the Park design, and two competitions
were launched in February 1967 – one for the site development and one for the building
architecture. The contest winners were announced in October 1967.

ARCHITECTURE
To avoid building an enormous stadium in a Park that was intended to be to human scale, the
stadium was partly set into the ground (approximately two-thirds of its circumference) which
was shaped for this purpose. The east stand is formed from a levelled 18m-high embankment
which allows spectators to access this part of the stadium. The west stand, which is taller and
wider, is an above-surface structure that contains five levels under the seating areas. The
uppermost level, open to the outside,was exclusively for spectator flow and access. The four
others, two of which are completely below ground level, housed, among other things, changing
rooms, restaurants and technical and storage facilities. The west stand also contained a VIP
section with 300 seats.

A warm-up area on the west side of the stadium was connected to the stand-by room via a
50m-long underground passage. A press pit, 3 metres wide and 2 metres deep, encircled the
athletics track. The lighting system comprised four main floodlights, with two overlooking the
east stand and two overlooking the west stand, and six secondary floodlights mounted along
the edge of the roof in the west stand. The spectators could purchase snacks, beverages and
other items at 53 points of sale located across nine zones around the stadium.

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PARTICULAR FEATURES
The architects selected to carry out the project came up with the bold idea of a tent-shaped
roof that would cover the west side of the stadium and the adjoining swimming pool and
multisports hall, but questions were raised as to how feasible this would be and what methods
would be used. The roofing selected was rigid and needed to be translucent in order to
minimise the amount of shadow on the field of play, which affected television images. A
number of materials were considered to cover the 75,000 square metres that made up the
roof. The option chosen was acrylic glass, which had the advantage of being fireproof, among
other things. The roof’s structure was made from a net of steel cables fastened on masts and
secured to the ground. Neoprene buffers were used to attach the sheets of glass to the cables.

The process of designing the roof was a technical feat that required research and innovative
construction methods to produce, for example, welds and cables that were more resistant than
normal.

AFTER THE GAMES

Munich’s Olympic Stadium has been used for both sports competitions and public and cultural
events, such as concerts by world-famous artists and music festivals. Football has occupied
an important place there, with the stadium serving as a venue for matches in major
tournaments such as the World Cup in 1974, the European Championships in 1988 and the
final of the European Cup/Champions League in 1979, 1993 and 1997. Between 1972 and
2005, it was the home ground of FC Bayern Munich as well as, intermittently, TSV 1860
Munich. The German national team also played 14 of its international matches in Munich
between 1972 and 2001.

“[The Olympic Park] not only became a

meeting point and place of recreation for
Münchners; it is also, above all, a forum for
international events. The resources invested
[…] have paid off well beyond [the Games].”
Hans-Dietrich Genscher 36

The Olympic Stadium and the Munich Olympic Park in general have regularly hosted other
national and international sports events, including the German Athletics Championships (1972,
1982 and 1992), the European Athletics Championships (2002), the Air & Style Festival
(2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011) and the X Games (2013), as well as the Boulder World
Championships (2014) and the last stage of the Boulder World Cup (since 2010), both
organised by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC).

DID YOU KNOW?

A warm-water heating system helped to keep the grass snow-free. The system comprised
a network of plastic pipes fitted 25 centimetres below ground level. According to the
Organising Committee, it was the first of its kind in Germany.

36
Former German Vice-Chancellor and Minister, and Vice-President of the Organising Committee for the Munich
Games in 1972. The quote comes from a text published at the start of the work Der Münchner Olympiapark (1982).

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SOURCES
‒ “About”, IFSC Boulder Worldcup Munich Facebook page.
‒ Die Spiele: le rapport officiel du comité organisateur des Jeux de la XXe Olympiade
Munich 1972, Prosport, Munich, 1974, vol. 1, pp. 29-30, 108, vol. 2, pp. 2, 5-10, 16, 19,
23, 27-29, 44, 46, 50-52, 54-55, 180-182.
‒ “IFSC Climbing World Championship (B) - Munich (GER) 2014, 21 - 23 August 2014”,
website of the International Federation of Sport Climbing.
‒ Noel Camillo, Der Münchner Olympiapark, Geschichte – Gegenwart – Daten, Münchner
Olympiapark GMBH, 1982, p. 11.
‒ Olympic Stadium, website of the Olympiapark München.
‒ Spiele der XX. Olympiade München 1972, Games of the XXth olympiad Munich 1972,
Jeux de la XXe olympiade Munich 1972, Organisationskomittee für die Spiele der XX.
Olympiade, 1972, “Fussball, football: 27.8. - 9.9.72”, p. 66 ; “Leichtathletik, athletics,
athlétisme: 10.9.72”, p. 8 ; “Reiten, equestrian sports, sports équestres: 11.9.72”, n. p.

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MONTREAL 1976

Aerial view of the building site (top) / Jumping course (bottom) Aerial view of the Olympic Stadium (top) / Press box (bottom)

MONTREAL OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Montreal Olympic Stadium

Location: 4545, Avenue Pierre de Coubertin, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Status: Built for the Games. In use today.

Designer: Roger Taillibert

Cost: 795.4 million Canadian dollars (just for the stadium; not including the
tower, which was completed in 1987)

Capacity: 74,223 spectators for the Games Closing Ceremony

Dimensions: 305m long, 250m wide and 55m high

Additional information: 2,120,000m3 of clay and limestone were excavated to build the
stadium. 12,000 elements of concrete formed the structural base of the

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stadium; this required 71,500m3 of poured concrete containing almost

1,000km of cable.

Construction: 28 April 1973 to June 1976

Official opening: 26 and 27 June 1976 for the provincial school championships

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the 20km race walk and the
marathon); start of the 4,000m in the modern pentathlon; equestrian
team jumping (not including the eventing); and 11 matches in the
Olympic football tournament.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
With no sufficiently large existing infrastructure, the City of Montreal decided to build a new
stadium for the Games – one with a capacity for 70,000 spectators that could host various
sports events. On 6 April 1972, in front of over 200 invited journalists, a model of the future
Olympic Stadium – designed by French architect Roger Taillibert – was unveiled. He opted for
an architectural design that had never been seen before in North America and chose an
ellipsoidal rather than a circular shape, which was more in vogue at the time.

The location of the future stadium was another key aspect: it would be situated in the eastern
part of Montreal, on a 60-hectare plot of land just off Sherbrooke Street, only 10 minutes from
the city centre. Two metro stations – Pie-IX and Viau – needed to be built so that the public
could easily make their way to the sporting complex from the city centre. During the Olympic
Games, up to 75,000 people passed through these stations at peak times.

The progress of the work was hampered by long periods of industrial action. Indeed, more
than 155 days of strikes compromised the stadium construction project and prevented the
completion of the roof and tower.

ARCHITECTURE
The shape of the stadium resembles an enormous shell, open in the centre. A tower, more
than 160 metres high, overlooks the building. The structure of the stadium lies on 34 consoles
made up of “voussoirs” (pieces of concrete compressed to form a vault). With their rib cage-
style design, the consoles, which are hollow and stand independently from one another,
constitute the framework of the stadium. Each console is supported by a sole pillar, and their
shape resembles a balance beam. These consoles serve as the foundational support for the
majority of the stadium’s other features, such as the stands and the permanent roof. Two huge
electronic scoreboards, each weighing over 40 tonnes and supported by radial beams,
enhanced the viewing experience of the spectators during the Games. The stadium roof is
divided into two sections, with the lower part made of a thin layer of concrete and the upper
part made of metal. The metallic beams were obtained by cold bending a 1.2m-wide
continuous sheet of metal. The roof was intended to cover approximately 18,000m 2 but was
not finished in time for the Olympic Games. It would be over 10 years before the project was
completed.

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“I came to see the Olympic Stadium. I saw it. I

was struck to the core, dazzled!”
René Barjavel 37

PARTICULAR FEATURES
The main distinctive feature of the Olympic Stadium was that the Olympic pool was located in
an adjoining building, resulting in an innovative, hybrid structure. In terms of accessibility, the
building contained only access ramps and escalators in order to make it easier for spectators
to enter and leave the stadium, with forced evacuations intended to take fewer than seven
minutes.

AFTER THE GAMES

Once the Olympic Games were over, the natural grass was replaced with synthetic turf, and
part of the stands was removed to create a baseball and Canadian football venue. From 1977,
the stadium became the home ground of the Montreal Expos baseball team and the Alouettes
Canadian football team. In February 1978, with the roof and mast still not fully finished, the
Premier of Quebec, René Levesque, announced on behalf of the provincial government that
the architect’s plans would be brought to completion. It was not until 1987 that the roof and
tower were finally completed. The latter, standing at a height of 165 metres, became an ideal
vantage point to admire the city of Montreal.

The Olympic Stadium has hosted numerous cultural events such as concerts, operas, a papal
Mass and sports matches (football, Canadian football and baseball). The record number of
spectators in the stadium was 78,322 for a Pink Floyd concert in July 1977. The stadium
capacity has since been reduced and currently stands at 60,000.

DID YOU KNOW?

The stadium was paid for partly through a provincial tax on packets of cigarettes.
For the first time, two athletes, Stéphane Préfontaine from Montreal and Sandra
Henderson from Toronto, entered the stadium carrying the Olympic flame together. This
moment symbolised the unity of the country’s English- and French-speaking populations.

SOURCES
‒ Alain Orlandini, Roger Taillibert: Réalisations, Somogy Éditions d’Art, 2004, pp. 63-70.
‒ Montréal 1976: Jeux de la XXIe Olympiade Montréal 1976: rapport officiel, COJO 1976,
Ottoawa, 1978, vol. 1, pp. 47, 90, 105, 126, 192, vol. 2, pp. 4, 20, 30, 38, 46, 47, 49, 52.
‒ “Data and statistics”, website of the Olympic Park Montreal.
‒ “The Olympic Stadium – Masterpiece of architecture and engineering” , factsheet, website
of the Olympic Park Montreal.
‒ “The Olympic Stadium – The biggest gathering place in Québec”, factsheet, website of the
Olympic Park Montreal.
‒ Roger Taillibert, Construire l’avenir, Presses de la Cité, Paris, 1977, p. 181.

37
French writer and journalist (1911-1985).

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MOSCOW 1980

Aerial view of the stadium’s Grand Arena (top) / External view (bottom) Olympic cauldron (top) / Opening Ceremony (bottom)

CENTRAL LENIN STADIUM

Name: Currently named the Luzhniki Stadium

Location: District Khamovniki, Moscow, Russia

Status: Renovated for the Games. In use today.

Designers: The architects of the original stadium were Alexander Vlassov, Igor
Rojine, Nikolai Ullas and Alexander Khriakov in 1956.
Renovation by PA Arena, Gmp Architekten and Mosproject-4 for the
Games.

Cost: 58.4 million rubles to upgrade the facilities

Capacity: 103,000 spectators

Dimensions: Approximately 301.5m long and 165m wide.

The Luzhniki Stadium and the surrounding infrastructure cover 180
hectares.

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Additional information: Parking spaces for 5,000 cars and 700 buses.
80,000m2 of preparation areas for the athletes below the stands.

Construction: January 1955 to July 1956

Official opening: 31 July 1956

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the marathon and the 20km
and 50km race walks); equestrian individual jumping; final of the
football tournament.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
The Lenin Central Stadium was envisaged as the main venue of the 1980 Summer Games
right from the Candidature Phase. The stadium – the largest in the country – was designed by
Soviet architects ahead of the 1956 Spartakiade. The facilities – particularly the athletics track,
the stands and the press centre – needed to be upgraded to stage the Games (in line with the
recommendations of the IOC and the International Federations) and to make the stadium the
centrepiece of the Olympic Park. The renovation work began in 1977 and the stadium was
back in use just over two years later for the 1979 Spartakiade. More than 50,000 new items of
equipment were installed for this event.

The stadium is located 6.5km away from Red Square, on the banks of the Moskva River in the
south-west of the city. The Olympic Park was served by various means of public transport
(bus, metro and trolleybus). The stadium itself is surrounded with greenery, making it a
popular location with Muscovites.

ARCHITECTURE
According to Thomas Schmidt, the stadium was a “colossal” piece of infrastructure “without
any kind of decorative relief”. The arena is elliptical, with its major axis 301.5 metres in length.
The stadium’s external features were virtually unchanged for the Olympic Games: the façade
retained its neo-classical appearance, characterised by pillars mounted at regular intervals
and set at an equal distance from the main axis, with the effect heightened by the vertical
layout of the windows. Moreover, reinforced concrete elements covered with intricate sculpted
tiles served as a further tribute to traditional Soviet architecture. Inside the stadium, on the
other hand, a significant amount of renovation work was carried out. The structures supporting
the stands were rebuilt with reinforced concrete for increased stability. The seats were
replaced to provide more comfort to the spectators, and the upper rows were sheltered from
bad weather by a 10m overhang.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
Facilities for the athletes and technical officials were located under the stadium on five levels
and included 14 gyms, a cinema and multiple restaurants. Lighting in the stadium was
provided by 200 floodlights with halogen lamps, fitted onto four 86m-high towers. The height of
the towers was not chosen by chance; it guaranteed optimal lighting by preventing glare, and
the lighting intensity enabled high-quality colour television broadcasting, even in fading light
conditions. Lifts were installed in the towers to facilitate the maintenance of these floodlights.

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Finally, two large video scoreboards were installed above the north and south stands to
promptly relay information to the spectators in the stadium.

“The great sports arena at Luzhniki, where the

Olympians will face each other, has truly
become a magnificent sports facility, in
keeping with the highest modern standards.”
Artur Takac38

AFTER THE GAMES

Events organised in the stadium since the Olympic Games have included football matches in
European cup competitions, such as the final of the UEFA Cup in 1999 and the Champions
League in 2008. For the football World Cup final in 2018, the authorities completely renovated
the stadium and reduced its capacity to 81,000 permanent seats. Other sports events, such as
an international rugby sevens tournament and the 2013 World Championships in Athletics,
have been held at the venue, as have a number of cultural events and concerts.

DID YOU KNOW?

A hotel with a capacity for 360 people was located inside the Lenin Central Stadium.

Today, a huge statue of Lenin is located at the entrance to the stadium that used to bear
his name.

SOURCES
‒ Andreï Iknnikov, L’architecture russe de la période soviétique, Pierre Mardaga, 1990,
p. 288.
‒ Arènes des XXIIes Jeux Olympiques, Strojizdat, Moscow, pp. 56-57.
‒ Boris Bazunov, Sergei Popov, Moscou Olympique: La ville, les traditions, les olympiens,
les stades, une fête, Fiwkoultoura i sport, Moscow, 1976, p. 117.
‒ Jeux de la XXIIe Olympiade Moscou 1980, Rapport officiel du comité d’organisation des
Jeux de la XXIIe Olympiade, I. T. Novikok [red.], Fizkoultoura i Sport, Moscow, 1980, vol.
2, pp. 46, 48, 50, 524.
‒ Jeux de la XXIIe Olympiade Moscou 1980: Résultats, Organising Committee of the Games
of the XXII Olympiad, Moscou, 1980.
‒ Martin Wimmer, Olympic buildings, Ed. Leipzig, 1976, p. 46.
‒ Olympiade 80, Jeux Olympiques d’été, Organising Committee of the Games of the XXII
Olympiad, Moscow, 1980, périodique 11 pp. 17-19 ; périodique 21, pp. 3-7 ; périodique 31,
pp. 2-3 ; périodique 35, p. 2.
‒ Thomas Schmidt, “Olympic stadiums from 1948 to the present day”, Olympic Review, no.
248, July 1988, pp. 310-314.
‒ Vladimir Sergeevich Rodichenko, Games of the XXII Olympiad Moscow 1980: programme
of competitions: day by day, Fiskultura I Sport, Moscow, 1980, pp. 78, 100, 106.

38
IAAF technical delegate and subsequently personal adviser to IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

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LOS ANGELES 1984

Opening Ceremony (top) / Official stand (bottom) The peristyle and the cauldron (top) / The scoreboard (bottom)

LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM

Name: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, United Airlines Memorial

Coliseum (from 2019)

Location: 3911 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, United States of America

Status: Existing venue, modifications made for the Games. In use today.

Designers: John and Donald Parkinson (architects, original construction)

Edwards, Wildey & Dixon Co. (contractors, original construction)
Bennett & Bennett (architects, renovation work for 1984)

Cost: Construction of the original stadium in 1923: ~800,000 US dollars

Stadium capacity increase in 1931: ~900,000 US dollars
Renovation work for 1984: 5 million US dollars

Capacity: 92,516 spectators

Dimensions: ~324m long and ~235m wide

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Additional information: -

Construction: 21 December 1921 to 1 May 1923

Start of renovation work for the 1984 Summer Games: 17 April
1982

Official opening: Opened in June 1923 39

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the marathons and the
20km and 50km race walks).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
Exposition Park, which houses the Memorial Coliseum and which had served as the centre of
the Games in 1932, was again selected as the central site for the 1984 Games. The stadium
was rented out by the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission to the Organising Committee.

ARCHITECTURE
The Organising Committee consulted the Coliseum Commission to determine what changes
needed to be made in the stadium and behind the scenes in order to best meet the
requirements for staging Olympic competitions in 1984. It was decided that a new football pitch
would be created, a state-of-the-art drainage system would be added, and a new athletics
track, inspired by the one used at the stadium in Munich for the 1972 Summer Games, would
be installed. The synthetic polyurethane track contained eight lanes. It was mounted on a
13cm gravel base and covered with an 8cm layer of asphalt. The radius of the track curves
was increased to 36.5 metres to limit the effects of centrifugal force and to do away with any
unfair advantage for the athletes allocated one of the inside lanes.

A drainage system was installed to collect runoff water from the stadium seating areas and
direct it into the pumping station in the south-west tunnel. The conduit telephone and television
system was redesigned to meet the latest technology needs. An air-conditioning system was
installed in the athletes’ changing rooms in 1983 and lighting capacity was enhanced.

Two electronic scoreboards were installed on either side of the peristyle so that the spectators
could constantly follow all the action in the stadium. The left-hand scoreboard measured
9x14.6 metres and offered in-depth coverage of the ongoing events, as well as the full set of
results. The right-hand scoreboard, measuring 11x14.6 metres, showed colour replays of the
key moments in the competitions. A third scoreboard was temporarily placed at the other end
of the stadium.

The external architecture remained similar to that used for the Games in 1932. The outside
square leading to the peristyle was renovated, and benches, plants and a statue – Olympic
Gateway, designed by artist Robert Graham and commissioned by the Organising Committee
to mark this new edition of the Olympic Games – were added.

39
Some sources also give May as the month of the inauguration.

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“The Coliseum is important because it

represents History. When you have a stadium
like this, it brings back memories. It’s like a
song, an old song that comes on and it takes
up to that moment […].”
Carl Lewis 40

AFTER THE GAMES

In 1984, the State of California and the US Government declared the Coliseum a National
Historic Landmark owing to its contribution to the history of the state and country.

After the Games, the Coliseum continued to serve as the home ground of the USC Trojans,
the American football university team. Before the start of the American football season in
1993, USD 15 million was invested to renovate the stadium: the field was lowered, the
athletics track was removed and 14 rows of seating (around 8,000 individual seats) were
added in the lower part of the stadium to bring the spectators closer to the field of play.

In 1994, the stadium was left damaged following an earthquake. An additional USD 96 million
was invested in repairs and improvement work.

Further renovation work began in 2018. The upgrades included replacing and widening seats,
installing handrails in some of the busier zones, restoring the peristyle, and adding lighting and
entry concourses. The process of widening some of the seats and providing more room for
spectators is set to have an impact on the stadium capacity, which will be reduced to 77,550.

Notable events to have taken place in the stadium since the end of the Games have included
a papal Mass given by John Paul II in 1987, Nelson Mandela’s return to the USA in 1990 and
numerous concerts.

DID YOU KNOW?

In 2028, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will have hosted the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies and the athletics events at three editions of the Olympic Games.
Over one million spectators went to the stadium during the Games to watch the athletics
events, and nearly 160,000 attended the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

SOURCES
‒ Alfonso Cano Pintos, El estadio Olímpico. Sus fundamentos arquitectónicos, dir. Juan
Miguel Hernández de León, Departamento de Proyectos Arquitectónicos, Escuela Técnica
Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, 2016, p. A-43.
‒ “Coliseum History”, website of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
‒ “Coliseum Renovation”, website of the USC Trojan American football team.
‒ “Legendary LA Venues: Carl Lewis at the Coliseum”, YouTube channel of LA2028, video
published on 11 April 2017.

40
American track & field athlete and winner of nine Olympic gold medals, four of which were at the Olympic Games
Los Angeles 1984.

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‒ “Los Angeles 1932: California welcomes the world”, news, website of the International
Olympic Committee, 13 September 2017.
‒ Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games,
1959, n. p.
‒ “New Coliseum Track Completed”, Olympic Update, June 1983, p. 2.
‒ Official Report of the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad Los Angeles 1984, Los Angeles
Olympic Organizing Committee, 1985, vol. 1, pp. 30, 68, 72-73, 863.
‒ Olympic Countdown: 200 Days to go, Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, 1984,
p. 127.
‒ “Spotlight on the Coliseum”, Stars in Motion: One year to go, no. 4, Summer 1983, pp. 61-
62.
‒ “USC stadium to be renamed United Airlines Memorial Coliseum”, ESPN, 30 January
2018.
‒ “USC Trojans - Facilities”, website of the USC Trojans American football team.

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SEOUL 1988

Aerial view of the stadium (top) / Training in front of the stadium The inside of the stadium (top) / Inspection of the stands (bottom)
(bottom)

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Also called Jamsil Olympic Stadium

Location: 25 Olympic-ro, Jamsil 2(i)-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, Republic of

Korea

Status: Built with a view to having a sports complex capable of hosting

major international events. In use today.

Designer: Swoo-geun Kim (Space Group)

Cost: 78.7 billion won

Capacity: 100,000 spectators

Dimensions: 280m long and 245m wide

Additional information: 47m high, circumference of 830m

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Construction: 28 November 1977 to 29 September 1984

Official opening: 29 September 1984

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the two marathons and
the 20km and 50km race walks); equestrian individual jumping
(not including the eventing); football tournament matches,
including the final and the bronze-medal match.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
The City of Seoul, which wanted to develop its sporting infrastructure and, in particular,
possess a stadium capable of staging major sports events such as the Asian Games, initiated
plans to create a large-scale sporting complex from the early 1970s. This was to be located
approximately 13 kilometres away from the city centre, on the southern bank of the Han River.
Covering a total surface area of 59 hectares, it was named the Seoul Sports Complex 41.
Between 1972 and 1984, a baseball stadium, two gyms, a covered swimming pool and a
100,000-capacity stadium were constructed.

In 1981, Seoul’s Candidature File for the 1988 Summer Games referred to a plan to build a
second stadium, also with a capacity for 100,000 spectators. This one was due to form part of
a national sports complex, planned together with the Korean Government and located
approximately three kilometres west of the Seoul Sports Complex. Once the Games were
awarded to Seoul in 1981, the project changed and ultimately this stadium was not built. The
Seoul Sports Complex stadium therefore became the main stadium for the Games. To this
end, it underwent improvement works, including an overhaul of the public address system.

ARCHITECTURE
The curved, pared-down form of the stadium was inspired by the shape of a Joseon Dynasty
porcelain vase, creating an impression of lightness. Eighty pillars of differing heights emerge
from the rim of the steel and concrete structure and extend horizontally across the roof that
encircles the entire stadium, covering two-thirds of the seats.

« The void created by curved steel and

concrete was powerful in its physical poetry,
and the open structure allowed for a dynamic
mixture of airflow, lighting and shadow, adding
to the creation of intense sensory and spatial
experiences. »
EunSook Kwon 42

41
Today also called the Jamsil Sports Complex.
42
Professor at the University of Houston’s Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design, reflecting on her visit
to the Olympic Stadium in Seoul in January 2008 ahead of the Design Olympiad due to be held that same year.

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There are three levels under the stands, as well as an area below ground level. The stands
are arranged in two circular tiers, which can be evacuated in 15 minutes.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
The curved structure does not just serve an aesthetic purpose; it also helps to support the
weight of the roof. In order to brighten up the Seoul Sports Complex and the area around the
stadium, 185,700 trees and bushes were planted in the early 1980s.

AFTER THE GAMES

Before the Olympic Games, the stadium was used for the 1986 Asian Games, which had been
awarded to Seoul two months after it had been selected to host the Olympic Summer Games
1988.

Since the Games, the stadium has hosted major cultural events such as concerts, operas and
festivals, as well as the Seoul Design Olympiad in 2008 and 2009. It has also staged sports
events such as the finish of the Seoul International Marathon. In 2010, it was put forward as
one of the proposed host venues in the Republic of Korea’s bid to stage the 2022 football
World Cup. In 2013, it hosted a number of matches in the East Asian Cup. Seoul E-Land
Football Club, founded in 2014, play their home matches at the Olympic Stadium.

Since 2008, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has been working to redevelop the zone
around the Sports Complex and the districts located to the east, with a view to transforming
the area into a business and convention-centre hub. While the project does envisage knocking
down and relocating some of the sports facilities at the Complex – part of which will still be
dedicated to sport, leisure and culture – the Olympic Stadium will be kept, in line with the
original vision, and upgraded. The redevelopment work is due to begin in 2019.

DID YOU KNOW?

Even before the start of the Games, the Olympic Stadium proved to be a tourist attraction,
with 301,924 foreign visitors in 1987.
Former Organising Committee President Park Seh-jik has described how the stadium
faced a race against time the night before the Opening Ceremony. Thousands of cards
due to be used in card stunts by the crowd during the show were delivered that evening –
one week late. It was physically impossible for the 30 available staff members to place all
of them on every seat before the Opening Ceremony the following morning. Ultimately,
300 students were recruited at the last minute and worked until 6 a.m. to ensure that
everything was ready.

SOURCES
‒ “An overview of the preparations for the Games of the XXIV Olympiad”, Seoul Olympic
News, Newsletter of the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee, SLOOC, vol. 1, no. 3, June
1984, p. 1.
‒ “Candidate venues for 2022 World Cup announced”, news, website of the Korea Football
Association, 8 March 2010.
‒ “EAFF East Asian Cup 2013 & EAFF Women’s East Asian Cup 2013”, website of the East
Asian Football Federation.
‒ Eunha Koh, “South Korea and the Asian Games: The First Step to the World”, Sport in
Society, vol. 8, no. 3, September 2005, p. 469.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

‒ EunSook Kwon, “The Creation of Seoul Scent, Invisible Beauty”, Designing with smell:
practices, techniques and challenges, chapitre 10, Victoria Henshaw et al. [ed.], New York,
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018., n. p.
‒ Hee-sung Kim, “Seoul Design Olympiad wrap-up”, korea.net website, 4 November 2009.
‒ “Le stade olympique”, The Seoul Olympian, SLOOC, 2 September 1988, p. 62.
‒ “Photos of Today - Seoul International Marathon”, website of the Seoul Metropolitan
Government, 22 March 2018.
‒ Rapport officiel: Jeux de la XXIVème Olympiade Séoul 1988, Seoul, SOOC, 1989, vol. 1,
pp. 70, 83, 159, 162, 164, 166, 172, 311, 324.
‒ Responses to questionnaires for the Games of the XXIV Olympiad - Prepared by the Seoul
Metropolitan Government, February 1981, Chapter E: Questionnaire for Candidate Cities
applying for the Olympic Games, f. E-6.
‒ Seh-Jik Park, The Seoul Olympics, The inside story, Bellew Publishing, London, 1991, pp.
48-50.
‒ Seoul 1988, A guide to the XXIVth Olympiad, SLOOC, n. d., p. 47.
‒ “Seoul E-Land”, website of the K League.
‒ “Seoul International Complex”, website of the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
‒ Seoul: the capital city of Korea for XXIV Olympiad 1988 - La capitale de la Corée pour XXIVe
Olympiade 1988, Seoul Olympic Preparation Committee, n. d., p. 32.
‒ “Stadium draw”, Olympic Update, SLOOC/Burson-Marsteller, vol. 2, no. 2, March-April
1988, pp. 7-8.

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BARCELONA 1992

Aerial view of the stadium (top) / View of the outer façade (bottom) Interior view (top) / View from the old Marathon Gate (bottom)

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Montjuïc Stadium was renamed Montjuïc Olympic Stadium for

the Olympic Games. On 31 March 2001, its name was changed
to the Lluís Companys Montjuïc Olympic Stadium, after the
former Catalan politician and President.

Location: Montjuïc Park, Barcelona, Spain

Status in 1992: Renovated in view of hosting the Games. In use today.

Designers: Initial construction: Pere Domènech i Roure (architect)

Renovation: Vittorio Gregotti, Frederic Correa, Alfons Milà, Carles
Buxadé and Joan Margarit (architects)

Cost: 65 million pesetas

Capacity: 60,000 spectators

Dimensions: Approximately 205m long and 110m wide

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Additional information: The competition area comprised a central lawn of 7,300m2.

A 60m warm-up track for the athletes was installed below the
stands.

Construction: Initial construction: from 5 April 1927 (first stone laid at a

ceremony attended by International Olympic Committee
President Henri de Baillet-Latour) to May 1929
Restoration work: 1985 to 1989

Official opening: Initial construction: 20 May 1929 (inaugurated by King Alfonso

XIII to coincide with the Barcelona International Exposition)
Renovation: 8 September 1989 (inaugurated by King Juan Carlos
I for the 5th World Cup in Athletics)

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the finish line for the two marathons and the
10km, 20km and 50km race walks).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
There had been a growing interest in practising sport in Barcelona from the mid-19th century,
and enthusiasm at the idea of hosting the Olympic Games began to emerge in the early 20th
century. In 1929, Montjuïc Stadium was completed, coinciding with the International Exposition
taking place in the Catalan capital. The 50,000-capacity stadium was also intended to be a
host venue for the Olympic Games 1936, for which Barcelona was a candidate city but which
were eventually awarded to Berlin. During this period, the stadium hosted a range of sports
events, including major boxing matches that drew crowds of 40,000 people and the 2nd
Mediterranean Games in 1955. However, it subsequently fell into disuse, to the extent that
there were plans for it to be knocked down in the 1970s.

But the Olympic dream was revived in Barcelona at the start of the 1980s. With a view to
submitting a potential Olympic Games candidature, the decision was taken to renovate
Montjuïc Stadium, while continuing the development of the site on the hill of the same name.
Plans were established for the sports facilities that would be built, and in 1983 the city invited
several teams of renowned architects to submit proposals. Following the contest, the various
projects for the site, including the renovation of the stadium, were divided up among most of
the architect firms in contention.

As part of the restoration work, which began in 1985, the only part of the stadium that
remained unchanged was the outer façade, due to its historical value. The inside of the
stadium was completely redesigned and the capacity increased: the lowering of the field by 11
metres made it possible to install new rows of seating at the bottom of the stands. Barcelona
was finally awarded the Games in October 1986.

The hill of Montjuïc, where the stadium was located, also housed other important competition
venues that were used for the Games, and thus became the focal point of the event. An
esplanade in front of the main buildings, including the stadium, provided an open space for the
large crowds.

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ARCHITECTURE
Surrounded by the stadium’s old façade, the stands form an oblong shape, with two long
stands facing one another along the sides and two curved stands at either end of the field.
Only the west stand is covered. While the old roof had been mounted on a row of pillars
erected in the stands, the new roof, installed as part of the renovation work between 1985 and
1989, was supported by a metal beam fixed into the façade behind the stands. This new
overhanging structure, 150 metres long and 30 metres wide, did not affect the spectators’
view.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
The architects’ work seamlessly fused together the old neoclassical façade with the modern
features that were needed to host the Games, which had been added during the renovation of
the stadium. The façade underwent restoration work and the sculptures by artist Pablo
Gargallo which decorated it were taken down, fully restored and remounted.

“I think the marvellous thing about the Olympic

Stadium is the combination of modernity and
history they have managed to combine in the
new design.”
Coloman Trabado 43

AFTER THE GAMES

A multipurpose building, the stadium has hosted a range of cultural and sporting events since
the Games, including rugby and football matches. Spanish national team friendlies have been
played there, and Espanyol used the stadium as their home ground between 1997 and 2009.
Major athletics events have also been held there: the International Association of Athletics
Federations (IAAF) Grand Prix Final in 1991, the 2010 European Championships and the
World Junior Championships in 2012. Other events organised in the stadium have included
several Monster Jam editions and a “Snow Show” in 2009. Since 2016, the stadium has been
used as a sports theme park, with over 20 activities on offer for visitors of all ages.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Opening and Closing Ceremonies might not have been held at Montjuïc Olympic
Stadium. Indeed, when the preparatory studies were being conducted for these two
events, FC Barcelona’s famous stadium, the Nou Camp, was envisaged as a potential
venue as it had a larger capacity.

An inflatable version of the stadium – 10.5 metres high and with a surface area of 435 m2
– was used as part of a travelling exhibition to promote sport and the Games, entitled
“Barcelona'92, everyone's goal: the Olympic project in your city”.

SOURCES
‒ “A little history”, website of the Montjuïc Lluís Companys Olympic stadium.
‒ “History – Brief History”, website of the RCD Espanyol.

43
Spanish Olympian and 800m specialist (athletics).

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‒ “Le stade olympique de Montjuïc: 60 ans d’histoire (I)”, Barcelona Olympic News,
COOB’92, no. 5, July-August 1989, n. p.
‒ “Open Camp – The Sports Theme Park”, barcelonaconnect.com website.
‒ Rapport officiel des Jeux de la XXVe Olympiade Barcelone 1992, COOB’92, Barcelona,
1992, vol. 1, pp. 201, 204, 210, 227-229, 250-252, vol. 2, pp. 31, 158, 160-162, 202, 204,
vol. 3, pp. 35.
‒ “The Fifth World Athletics Cup opens the Stadium”, Barcelona Olympic News, COOB’92,
October 1989, no. 7, p. 7.
‒ The Olympic Stadium Symbol of Barcelona’92, COOB’92, 1989, pp. 9-10, 14, 17-18, 28,
30-31.

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AT L A N TA 1 9 9 6

Construction of the stadium (top) / The Olympic cauldron and the The stadium from the stands (top) / The Opening Ceremony (bottom)
crowd (bottom)

CENTENNIAL OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Centennial Olympic Stadium, Turner Field (1996-2016); currently

Georgia State Stadium

Location: 755 Hank Aaron Drive SE, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Status: Built for the Games. In use today.

Designers: Heery International, Inc., Rosser Fabrap International, Inc.,

Williams-Russell & Johnson, Inc. and Ellerbe Becket, Inc.
(architects)
Beers Construction, H.J Russell Construction and C.D Moody
Construction (contractors)

Cost: 207 million US dollars

Capacity: 85,600 spectators

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Dimensions: ~305m long and 208m wide

Additional information: Built on a 12-ha site located 1.5 kilometres from the centre of
Atlanta; 55,000m3 of earth excavation, 65,000m3 of concrete, 8,500
tonnes of structural steel, 1,500m2 of masonry, 2,000m2 of metal
roof decking, 19,312m of ramps, 7,059 light fixtures

Construction: 10 July 1993 to May 1996

Official opening: 18 May 1996

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the two marathons and
the 10km, 20km and 50km race walks).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
When the project was launched, the plan was for the Olympic Stadium to be built on the site of
a car park adjacent to the city’s existing stadium. The purpose behind its construction was
twofold: to serve as the main stadium during the Olympic Games, and then to become the
home stadium of the local baseball team, the Atlanta Braves. The planned seating capacity
was 85,000, with a temporary stand of 30,000 seats.

In early 1992, after more than 100 applications had been submitted, four architect firms were
chosen to design the stadium. Their main mission was to comply with IOC and IAAF
requirements while taking into consideration the specific needs of a professional baseball
team. Experience in the field of stadium construction and understanding of the local market
were essential points when it came to selecting the contractors. The building work lasted 30
months. Some of the facilities were temporary to allow for a smoother reconfiguration of the
stadium after the Olympic Games.

ARCHITECTURE
The stadium was designed in the traditional style of American stadiums, with vertical façades
on the outside and banked stands on the inside, above the athletics track. The stadium was
divided into six levels with different functional areas. The service level included the athletes’
changing rooms and the VIP and athlete drop-off areas; the plaza level contained the best
seats for spectators; the main level was similar but with a slightly less clear view; the press
level was reserved for the written press and television reporters; and the club level offered
access to 60 executive suites and various private bars. Finally, the upper level served the
highest, and therefore least expensive, seating tier in the stadium.

The foundations of the stadium structure consisted of 2,650 bored piles installed in groups of
four to twelve, with a reinforced concrete pile cap. Structural grade beams connected the pile
caps, and a structural slab capable of HA loading was installed for the whole service level.
Reinforced concrete columns went from the service level to the plaza level, and from the plaza
level to the upper level. Structural steel and reinforced concrete completed the structure.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
The design of the Olympic Stadium was unique owing to the criteria established by the
management team of the Atlanta Braves, the future owners of the stadium; the space planning
was conditioned by the needs of a baseball field. Traditional athletics stadium features were

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added subsequently and on a temporary basis, which explains the asymmetrical shape of the
venue, particularly the elbow-style south-west corner. The seats in the stands were not
arranged in the typical fashion around the athletic track, meaning that some of the spectators
were further away from the action.

In order to connect the Olympic Stadium to the cauldron, sculptor Siah Armajani decided to
build a 55-metre bridge linking the stadium to a tower. This 36m-high steel tower – designed to
represent the “A” in Atlanta – allowed the flame to burn in a place where it could be seen by
everyone while maintaining the connection with the Olympic Stadium.

“I feel like I’m walking on water. The Tartan of

Atlanta is my Sea of Galilee. It’s a wonderful
feeling, a moment of sheer happiness.”
Marie-José Pérec44
AFTER THE GAMES
The athletics track was removed and given to Clark Atlanta University. The field of play was
remodelled to bring it into line with the requirements of a baseball field, and the number of
seats was reduced to 49,714. In 1997, the local baseball team, the Braves, moved into the
stadium, which was renamed Turner Field. In 2016, the stadium changed ownership again and
became Georgia State Stadium, the home of the Georgia State University American football
team.

DID YOU KNOW?

The temporary seats installed for the Olympic Games were removed and subsequently
sold at auction following the event.
Located at the north end of the Olympic Stadium, the Olympic cauldron became a public
monument.
As part of a recycling initiative, a significant amount of the concrete obtained from the
stadium renovation after the Games was re-used for local road repair works.
The Olympic Stadium designers recruited more than 200 local high-school students to
help decorate the building.

SOURCES
‒ 1996 Olympic Games: Press Handbook, Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, 1996,
p. 53.
‒ Catherine Samah, “Kit Stadium for Atlanta”, Architectures, no. 48, p. 456.
‒ Marie-José Pérec, Rien ne sert de courir, Grasset, Paris, 2008, p. 158.
‒ R. Larson and T. Staley, “Atlanta Olympics: The big story”, Stadia, Arenas and
Grandstands: design, construction and operation: proceedings of the first international
conference “stadia 2000”: Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff, Wales, 1-3 April 1998,
chapitre 31, P. D. Thompson, J. J. A. Tolloczko et J. N. Clarke [ed.], Concrete Society
[org.], E & FN Spon, 1998, pp. 279-283.
‒ The official report of the Centennial Olympic Games: Atlanta 1996, Peachtree publishers,
Atlanta, 1997, vol. 1, pp. 2-3, 110, 116, 117, 161, 199, 202, 478, 500, 542, vol. 2, p. 313.

44
French track & field athlete and triple Olympic champion.

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SYDNEY 2000

Aerial view (top) / General view of the stadium during the events View during the Opening Ceremony (top) / Interior view (bottom)
(bottom)

OLYMPIC STADIUM/STADIUM AUSTRALIA

Name: Also called Stadium Australia during the Games. It was

subsequently renamed Telstra Stadium before acquiring its current
name, the ANZ Stadium.

Location: Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Bay, Sydney, Australia

Status: Built for the Games. In use today.

Designers: Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture

Multiplex and Hambros Australia Consortium (construction and
investment)

Cost: 690 million Australian dollars

Capacity: 110,000 spectators

Dimensions: 120m wide, 197m long (track and competition area), 58m high.

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Additional information: 16 ha (site), 90,000m3 of concrete, 12,000 tonnes of structural

steel, 10,000 tonnes of reinforcing, 1 million masonry blocks,
180km of electrical cabling

Construction: September 1996 to February 1999

Official opening: 12 June 1999

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the 20km and 50km race
walks and the finish of the marathons) and final of the men’s
football tournament.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
As part of Sydney’s candidature to host the Olympic Games 2000, the plan was to build an
Olympic Park and an 80,000-capacity Olympic Stadium on a 16-hectare site – located 19
kilometres from the city centre – that had been used as cattle-holding yards for the abattoirs of
Homebush.

The winning tender project was announced on 23 January 1996 by the Premier of New South
Wales, Bob Carr. The final version included plans to construct a stadium with a capacity for
110,000 spectators during the Olympic Games. In an effort to design a multipurpose structure
that would leave a lasting cultural and sporting legacy, the project provided for a
reconfiguration of the stadium after the Games, with a new capacity of 80,000.

An unusual feature of the project’s funding was that the general public were offered the
chance to buy in to the stadium, with 30,000 memberships sold and each member owning an
equity share in the stadium.

ARCHITECTURE
Designed to resemble the shape of a traditional Australian Akubra hat, the 30,000m2 roof,
installed at a height of 58 metres, is supported by huge white arches and structures behind the
stands. It was equipped with transparent polycarbonate to reduce glare and shadow on the
field of play.

During the Games, the two white arching structures that constituted the roof covered the two
permanent main stands, which contained approximately 60,000 seats. The temporary north
and south stands, which held 30,000 spectators, were not covered.

The stadium design and construction incorporated a number of environmentally friendly

features. In order to save energy, the stadium was built in such a way as to maximise
ventilation and natural light. Rainwater is collected from the roof and stored in tanks for
irrigation of the pitch all year round. The use of PVC was kept to a minimum.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
Spectators access the stands via four ramps positioned around the building. These spiral-
shaped pedestrian ramps were one of the distinctive architectural features of the Olympic
Stadium.

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“I love the way it looks and feels, the colours

and especially the aromas.”
Cathy Freeman 45

AFTER THE GAMES

The total capacity of the stadium was reduced to 80,000 following the removal of the
temporary seating at the top of the north and south stands. These stands were subsequently
equipped with a polycarbonate roof, meaning that all spectators would now be covered.
Certain sections of the lower seats move, allowing the field to change shape from a
rectangular playing field for national and international football matches to an oval one for
Australian football games. Events organised in the stadium since the Olympic Games have
included rugby league, rugby union and cricket matches, as well as cultural events such as
concerts by celebrated artists.

DID YOU KNOW?

Students from the Homebush Bay area helped to paint the logo of the Sydney 2000
Organising Committee on the site of the future Olympic Stadium. The emblem could be
seen from planes landing at and taking off from the city’s airport.

SOURCES
‒ “ANZ Stadium Fast Facts”, “Our Design” and “Our History”, website of the ANZ Stadium.
‒ “Leading the world in sustainable design ten years on: ANZ Stadium”, website of
Populous.
‒ Official Report of the XXVII Olympiad: Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, 15 September – 1
October 2000, The Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, 2001, vol. 1,
pp. 17, 61, 64-65, 84, 105-106, 292, 356-357, 376.
‒ Sydney 2000, Dossier de candidature, Volume 2 Renseignements olympiques, Sydney
Olympics 2000 Bid, 1993, pp. 117, 123.
‒ Sydney's Olympic Stadium Australia Stadium 2000 proposal, Olympic Co-ordination
Authority, pp. 93-95.
‒ “Sydney’s Olympic Stadium”, press release published by the executive office of the New
South Wales’ Prime Minister, 23 January 1996.
‒ “Sydney Telstra Stadium”, SB, special issue, IOC IAKS AWARD 2003, 2003, p. 6.

45
Australian track & field athlete and double Olympic medallist (400 metres).

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AT H E N S 2 0 0 4

The stadium before the Opening Ceremony (top) / View of the Agora One of the two sections of the roof (top) / The Wall of Nations (bottom)
(bottom)

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Olympic Stadium

Location: Olympic Athletic Centre of Athens Spiros Louis (O.A.K.A.),

Marousi, Athens, Greece

Status: Renovated for the Games. In use today.

Designers: Roofing: Santiago Calatrava (architect), Aktor, Athena and

Themeliodomi (building consortium)

Cost: -

Capacity: 72,000 spectators

Dimensions: -

Additional information: 127,625 m2 (site)

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Construction: 2003 - 2004 (renovation)

Official opening: 1982 / 2004

Events during the Games: Athletics (excluding the two marathons and the two shot put
events). Final of the men’s football tournament.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
Athens’ candidature for the 2004 Summer Games planned to use the existing stadium at the
Olympic Athletic Centre of Athens in Marousi, with no major redevelopment work envisaged.
Inaugurated in 1982 to coincide with the 13th European Athletics Championships, the stadium
hosted events such as the Mediterranean Games in 1991 and the World Championships in
Athletics in 1997.

Athens was awarded the Games in 1997, and the project to cover the stadium with a modern,
iconic roof was announced in the spring of 2001. The concept, designed by Spanish architect
Santiago Calatrava, was presented to the public in June 2001. Building work began in 2003
and was successfully completed despite the tight deadlines. Renovation work was also carried
out inside the stadium, with 66,000 new seats installed in the stands and new executive suites
and a press conference room added.

ARCHITECTURE
The oval-shaped, north-west/south-east facing stadium, located to the north-est of the city, is
made up of two curved tiers of stands. The two-sectioned roof is composed of two double-
arched tubular metal supports running parallel to one another, towering over the stands and
running the length of the stadium. The two double arches span 304 metres. Transverse beams
are fixed onto either end of the lower arches, supporting the transparent part of the roof,
composed of polycarbonate panels. Three series of cables deployed from each of the upper
arches provide further support to the structure. In total, 10 kilometres of cables were used. The
two sections of the roof are connected at each end. The roof has a total surface area of
25,000m2 and weighs 18,700 tonnes.

« […] the complexity of the engineering

involved is incredible - there are simpler ways
of spanning a roof over a stadium, but none
would look as spectacular as the Santiago
Calatrava design. »
Nick Ling 46

46
From the company Sinclair Knight Merz, speaking in 2003. Sinclair Knight Merz was involved in checking the
stadium cover concept and analysing the structure.

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PARTICULAR FEATURES
The two sections of the roof were assembled outside the stadium, some 70 metres away from
their final destination, where they were subsequently transported on tracks. This operation was
carried out in May 2004 for the west arc and in June 2004 for the east arc. For aesthetic
reasons, it was decided that the joints on the various segments that made up the arches
should not be visible. The segments were therefore bolted on inside the tube and the joints
were welded subsequently.

The roof is designed to withstand earthquakes of up to 8 on the Richter scale, as well as

violent winds.

AFTER THE GAMES

In 2004, AEK Athens Football Club, which had occupied the stadium between 1985 and 1987,
returned to play their home matches in the O.A.K.A. main stadium. Panathinaikos FC also
used the stadium for several seasons between 2005 and 2013. In addition to hosting sports
events, the top-class facilities of the Olympic Stadium have served as the venue for major
cultural events such as concerts.

DID YOU KNOW?

The concept for the Opening Ceremony had an impact on the preparatory work for the
stadium. In the centre of the field, huge decorative elements emerged from a well that was
25 metres wide and 23 metres deep. A 37km network of cables positioned more than 36
metres above the stadium was used to move these objects in 24 directions. Four main
towers, 55 metres high, two stabilising towers and 24 secondary towers were required to
bring this to fruition.

Architect Santiago Calatrava’s contribution was not limited to the Olympic Stadium but
extended to the whole Athletic Centre of Athens. The project to bring aesthetic uniformity
to the complex involved, in particular, the velodrome covering, an Agora which includes a
99 steel arches structurein the shape of a rotunda and a 250m steel kinetic sculpture
known as the “Wall of Nations”.

SOURCES
‒ Andreas Georgoulias, Theodoros Patramanis and Spiro N. Pollalis (supv.), The Roof of
the Olympic Stadium for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games from Concept to
Implementation, Harvard Design School, February 2006, pp. 6, 12, 17, 31.
‒ Athens 2004 Candidate City, Athens 2004 Olympic Bid Committee, 1996, vol. 2, p. 43.
‒ “Historic Approach”, website of the Olympic Athletic Centre of Athens Spiros Louis
(O.A.K.A.).
‒ “Le complexe olympique d’Athènes”, website of Athens 2004.
‒ “OAKA – Stade olympique”, website of Athens 2004.
‒ Official Report of the XXVIII Olympiad: Athens 2004, ATHOC, Athens, 2005, vol. 2,
pp. 162, 242, DVD: Behind the Scenes of the Athens 2004 Opening & Closing
Ceremonies.
‒ “Site olympique OAKA à Athènes – Un hommage sensuel à l’apesanteur”, Steeldoc /
Construire en acier, Centre suisse de la construction métallique (SZS), no. 4, 2005, pp. 4-
11.
‒ “Stadium”, website of the AEK FC.
‒ “Stadium”, website of the Panathinaikos FC.
‒ “The Olympic Stadium”, Media Info 2004, ATHOC, no. 1, April 2000, p. 45.
‒ “The ʻWowʼ factor”, Panstadia International, vol. 9, no. 3, February 2003, pp. 6-13.

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BEIJING 2008

External view (top) / Interior view at night (bottom) View from the stands (top) / An access ramp (bottom)

NATIONAL STADIUM

Name: Also known as the Bird’s Nest

Location: Olympic Green, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

Status: Built for the Games. In use today.

Designers: Herzog & de Meuron, Arup, China Architectural Design &

Research Group, Ai Weiwei

Cost: -

Capacity: 91,000 spectators (80,000 permanent seats and 11,000 temporary

seats)

Dimensions: 333m long, 294m wide and 69m high

Additional information: Total surface area of 258,000 m2, 110,000 tonnes of steel, of which
42,000 were for the external structure

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Construction: December 2003 to June 2008

Official opening: 28 June 2008

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the two 20km and the
50km race walks and the start of the two marathons); final of the
men’s football tournament.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
Right from the Candidature Phase for the 2008 Summer Games, it was planned to construct a
multipurpose stadium capable of hosting national and international sporting and cultural
events. The stadium would be the centrepiece of the Olympic Park, as part of an extension of
the central zone used for the Asian Games in 1990 in the north of the city.

In late 2002, an international competition for the design of the stadium was launched. The
winning project was selected in 2003. In 2004, following a cost revaluation, the idea for a
retractable roof was abandoned, leading to a 22.3 per cent reduction in the quantity of steel
initially envisaged.

ARCHITECTURE
The stadium’s enormous, saddle-shaped elliptical structure is composed of exposed criss-
crossing steel beams, forming the external envelope. Although the arrangement appears
random, this framework, with elements supporting one another, was designed on the basis of
a geometric plan. While the original architectural inspiration for the design came from
traditional Chinese crackle-glazed pottery and veined scholar stones, the building’s
appearance earned it the famous nickname “Bird’s Nest”.

Between the interweaving structure and the inside of the stadium, the designers developed an
autonomous “Piranesian” 47 concourse space that resembles an artificial forest, with a thicket
of supports and beams criss-crossing with platforms and access ramps. This space, which
looks out onto the Olympic Park and the city, offers a place for restaurants and shops. The
stadium benefits from natural ventilation.

The roof is covered with a transparent ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) membrane,

spanning 38,500m2, on the upper part, and a translucent PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene)
membrane, spanning 53,000m2, on its lower part. This double-layer membrane structure, in
addition to being waterproof, allows light to flow into the stadium and improves the acoustics.
A geothermal heat pump system absorbs the heat from the soil in winter and stores coolness
in summer. A photovoltaic system generates enough power to light the 15,000m2 underground
component. In addition, a rainwater collection and purification system is installed underneath
the stadium. Water is collected on a 22-hectare surface, with an estimated annual volume of
67,000m3. The building is designed to withstand earthquakes measuring up to 8 on the Richter
scale.

47
A reference to the artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi.

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« It certainly deserves a gold medal for

innovation »
Kelly Holmes 48

PARTICULAR FEATURES
The concept behind the atmospheric night lighting in the stadium was inspired by Chinese
lanterns. An abundance of light glows from within the stadium, creating a powerful visual
silhouette effect with the external beams.

AFTER THE GAMES

Events organised in the stadium since the Olympic Games have included the Race of
Champions motorsport event in 2009, three editions of the Italian football Super Cup (2009,
2011 and 2012), a meeting on the programme of the IAAF World Challenge four consecutive
years (2013 to 2016), the World Championships in Athletics in 2015 and the final of the
League of Legends video game World Championship in 2017. In addition, the stadium has
hosted concerts and winter sports events, including competitions in the FIS Freestyle Skiing
World Cup in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The Bird’s Nest has also become a tourist attraction. The
Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Winter Games 2022, which will be held in
Beijing, are set to take place in the stadium.

DID YOU KNOW?

After being deemed too small by some spectators during test events, the 28.3m2 screen
located inside the stadium was replaced with two 66m2 screens.

SOURCES
‒ “226 – National Stadium”, website of Herzog & de Meuron.
‒ Beijing 2008: Candidate City, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee, 2001, vol. 2, p.
39.
‒ “Bird's Nest - An architectural breakthrough”, news, website of Beijing 2008, 28 June 2008.
‒ “Bird’s Nest Milestones”, website of Beijing 2008.
‒ Nick Mulvenny, “Heralding the Games”, Olympic Review, no. 66, January-March 2008, p.
37.
‒ “Newly completed National Stadium welcomes guests”, news, website of Beijing 2008, 28
June 2008.
‒ Official Report of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing Organising Committee for the
Games of the XXIX Olympiad, 2010, vol. 2, pp. 17, 264, vol. 3, pp. 30, 36-37, 47.
‒ “Past events”, website of the National Stadium, Beijing.
‒ The Arup Journal, The Beijing National Stadium special issue, vol. 1, 2009, pp. 11, 44.
‒ “Video game warriors do battle before 40’000 fans in China”, The Inquirer / AFP, 5
November 2017.

48
British middle-distance athlete and triple Olympic medallist.

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LONDON 2012

Aerial view (top) / Illuminated panels in the stands (bottom) Inside of the stadium (top) / Wildflower meadow in front of the stadium
(bottom)

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: The stadium was subsequently renamed the London Stadium

Location: Olympic Park, Stratford, London, United Kingdom

Status: Built for the Games. In use today.

Designers: HOK Sport Ltd 49 (architects), Buro Happold (designer of the

civils, structural and building services work), Hyland Edgar Deiver
(landscape architects), Savilles Hepher Dixon (planning
consultant)

Cost: 429 million pounds sterling

Capacity: 80,000 spectators

49
Renamed Populous in 2009.

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Dimensions: 315m long, 256m wide and 63m high (floodlights included).
Stadium perimeter of 860 metres.
16 hectares for the site.

Additional information: The building contains approximately 10,000 tonnes of steel; over
5,000 reinforced concrete columns for the foundations, up to 20
metres deep; 12 kilometres of ventilation conduits and 338
kilometres of electrical cables. More than 5,250 people were
involved in building the stadium.

Construction: March 2008 to March 2011

Official opening: 6 May 2012

Events during the Games: Athletics (excluding the two marathons, the two 20km race walks
and the 50km race walk).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
London’s candidature for the 2012 Summer Games included plans to build a permanent
80,000-seater stadium that would be resized after the Games, with a reduced 25,000-
spectator capacity.

The location of the future stadium and the rest of the Olympic Park was an industrial zone that
the city wanted to regenerate and repurpose. More than 800,000 tonnes of earth were
excavated and, when necessary, decontaminated. Thirty-three old buildings were knocked
down to make way for the stadium.

ARCHITECTURE
The designers opted for a simple, compact, elliptical shape with an emphasis on elegance and
lightness. With a view to the post-Games reconfiguration, removable features were installed
and the weight of the structures was kept to a minimum. A focus was placed on reducing, re-
using and recycling materials. Surplus gas supply pipes, for example, were used to build the
top ring of the stadium.

« The design is a response to the challenge of

creating the temporary and the permanent at
the same time - that is the essence of the
design for the stadium. »
Rod Sheard 50

The lower, permanent tier, with seating for 25,000, has a sunken bowl form designed to bring
the spectators as close to the action as possible. A demountable upper tier included seating
for 55,000 spectators and was supported by a bolted metal structure with 112 raker beams

50
Senior Principal Architect at HOK Sport.

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measuring 40 metres in length. The stadium’s terracing units were made from 12,000 pre-cast
reinforced concrete elements.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
The cable-supported roof structure covered two-thirds of the stands and featured a membrane
structure spanning 25,000m2. These cables were capable of supporting the weight of 34
double-decker London buses.

On the inner tier of the roof were 14 triangular towers, weighing 34 tonnes and standing at a
height of 28 metres. Held in position by cables, each tower contained up to 44 floodlights, with
the number subject to variation depending on the position and angle. There were 532
floodlights in total, designed to meet high-definition television standards.

The stadium site, a large portion of which is surrounded by water, is connected to the rest of
the Olympic Park by bridges.

AFTER THE GAMES

The stadium resizing project underwent changes since the initial plan. Between 2013 and
2016, the building was redeveloped so that it could host both sporting and cultural events. A
new roof spanning 45,000 metres was installed, covering all the stands. Retractable seating
brought a section of the spectators closer to the field and 14 new floodlight towers, keeping the
triangular shape of the old ones, which had been taken down, were set up on the roof. The
stadium capacity, meanwhile, was finally reduced to approximately 60,000 (80,000 for
concerts) instead of 25,000, as initially planned.

In 2015, the stadium hosted matches in the Rugby World Cup, and in 2016, it became the
home ground of West Ham United Football Club. Athletics meets have also been held there,
including the inaugural edition of the Athletics World Cup in 2018. In June 2019, the stadium is
set to play host to Major League Baseball matches between the Boston Red Sox and the New
York Yankees – a first in Europe. The stadium is also used a venue for concerts by
international stars.

DID YOU KNOW?

During Games time, the external façade of the stadium was decorated with 336 fabric
panels, each measuring approximately 2.5x25 metres. The panels were developed by
Worldwide Olympic Partner Dow using an innovative material with a smaller ecological
footprint than traditional materials.

In order to create the original light effects during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies,
70,799 luminous panels equipped with nine LED lamps were installed between the seats.
A central computer controlled each of the panels.

Placed side by side, the seats in the Olympic Stadium, at the time of the Games, would
have covered a distance of 50 kilometres.

In order to ensure that there were 10 hectares of colourful wildflower meadows around the
stadium and throughout the Olympic Park in time for the start of the Games, the areas in
question were specially sown in the second week of May 2012. Two years of tests and
research were required to time the flowering correctly.

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SOURCES
‒ “About”, website of the London Stadium.
‒ “About the Event”, website of the Athletic World Cup.
‒ “Game Changers Strength, Style and Sustainability Wrapped In One Solution”, Form no.
878-00052-0713BBI, website of The Dow Chemical Company.
‒ London 2012 Candidate City, London 2012 Candidate City, vol. 1, p. 23, vol. 2, p. 13.
‒ London 2012 Olympic Games: the official report, LOCOG, London, 2013, vol. 3, p. 145.
‒ “London Stadium”, website of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
‒ “London Stadium to host Major League Baseball in June 2019”, news, website of the
London Stadium, 18 May 2018.
‒ Media guide: London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, LOCOG, London, 2012, p.
15.
‒ “New era of stadium design begins with Olympic Stadium”, media release, website of
London 2012, 7 November 2007.
‒ “Olympic Stadium wildflower meadows sown to flower gold this summer”, media release,
website of London 2012, 11 May 2012.
‒ “Olympic Stadium construction complete”, media release, website of London 2012, 29
March 2011.
‒ “Prime Minister and local schoolchildren light up Olympic Stadium for first time”, media
release, website of London 2012, 20 December 2010.
‒ “Stadium steel rises to change Olympic Park skyline”, media release, website of London
2012, 15 October 2008.
‒ “The Biggest Stage in London 2012 Prepares its Colourful Curtian”, media release,
website of Populous, 4 August 2011.
‒ The London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games: post-Games review, Report by
the Comptroller and Auditor General, National Audit Office (United Kingdom),
30 November 2012, pp. 7, 20.
‒ “The stage for the greatest show on earth – London 2012 Olympic Stadium”, website of
Populous.

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R I O 2 0 1 6 : M A R A C A N Ã S TA D I U M

Aerial view of the stadium (top) / Inside the stadium (bottom) View of the stands (top) / View from outside (bottom)

MARACANÃ STADIUM

Name: Also called the Estádio Jornalista Mario Filhõ before and after the
Games, in reference to a Brazilian journalist.

Location: R. Professor Eurico Rabelo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Status: Existed before and renovated for the Games. Currently in use.

Designers: Initial construction (1950): Waldir Ramos, Raphael Galvão,

Miguel Feldman, Oscar Valdetaro, Pedro Paulo B. Bastos,
Orlando Azevedo and Antônio Dias Carneiro (architects)
Renovations (2010): Schlaich Bergermann und Partner, Daniel
Fernandes Arquitectos (architects)

Cost: Adjustment works for the Games: 1.14 billion Brazilian reals

Capacity: 78,838 spectators

Dimensions: 1950: 317m long and 279m wide

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Since 2013: 295m long and 258m wide

Surface area: 143,645m2

Additional data: The new roof built between 2010 and 2013 covers more than
46,500m2.
More than 360 security cameras and 3,940 loudspeakers were
installed.

Construction: August 1948 to June 1950

Official opening: 16 June 1950

Events during the Games: Certain football matches

Opening and Closing Ceremonies

THE PROJECT
After extended discussions between those in favour of and against building a new stadium, the
constructive campaign, led particularly by journalist Mario Filhõ, bore fruit. The Maracanã was
built on a former horse-racing track belonging to the Jockey Club. It was created to host the
football World Cup in 1950, and its designers wanted it to be the biggest stadium in the world.
Some 10,000 tonnes of iron, three million bricks and half-a-million bags of cement were
needed to construct it in less than two years, thanks to the efforts of 1,500 workers labouring
day and night. However, the press was critical, citing the insufficient number of toilets and the
lack of a press stand. It was not until 1965 that the stadium was finally completed, and these
omissions put right.

In 2000, to mark its 50th anniversary, it underwent its first reconfiguration. The number of seats
was reduced (103,000 seats), and security was improved. Then, from 2005 to 2006, the
Maracanã was closed to the public to allow for new seating to be installed, to offer better
visibility and greater comfort for spectators.

Then, with a view to the FIFA 2014 World Cup and the Olympic Summer Games in 2016,
further renovation and modernisation work was undertaken. These renovations mainly
concerned the improvement of the reception areas, especially the zone reserved for the
media. Outside the stadium, the Brazilian authorities complied with the requirements imposed
by FIFA: access to the stadium was improved, and more than 1,000 parking spaces were built.

ARCHITECTURE
When it was first built, the stadium was oval in shape, with its outer part made of reinforced
concrete. During the subsequent modernisations, the infrastructure looked the same, but the
capacity was progressively reduced. During the most recent renovation, in 2010, a new bigger
roof resting on the existing building supports replaced the old cantilevered one. The whole roof
surface is covered with a PTFE-coated fibreglass membrane.

In addition, savings of 45 per cent were made in the amount of water needed to irrigate the
pitch, thanks to the installation of a water recycling system and a roof drainage system. There
are also 1,500 solar panels on the roof used to heat water for the showers.

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Lastly, two existing access ramps were refurbished and four new ones built. Thanks to this
work, the stadium can be emptied in eight minutes – an improvement in terms of both access
and safety.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
As the stadium is an emblem of Brazil, the colours chosen for the seats are those in the
national flag: yellow for the lower seats, blue for the middle seats and white for those at the
top. The grass is dark green, which adds to the aesthetic dimension of this carioca arena.

“The magnificent stadium in Rio de Janeiro can

be compared, without exaggeration, to the
Colosseum, through the evocation of its lines
and the majesty of its gigantic architectural
conception.”
Jules Rimet 51

AFTER THE GAMES

The Maracanã Stadium is an emblematic venue in the history of Brazilian sport and world
football. It is still used for football competitions, and is rented by two clubs, Flamengo and
Fluminense, which use it regularly to play their matches. The stadium also hosts concerts.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Maracanã has been listed as a historic monument by the Brazilian National Historic
and Artistic Heritage Institute.
It is the second most visited place in Rio de Janeiro after the statue of Christ the
Redeemer.
In the history of the Games of the Olympiad, it is the first stadium to have hosted the
Opening and Closing Ceremonies but no athletics events.

SOURCES
‒ Benjamin S. Flowers, Sport and Architecture, Routledge, London, 2017, p. 76.
‒ Carlos Eduardo Dias Comas, Niemeyer and Maracana stadium 1936-2011, ARQTEXTO
17, p. 16-63.
‒ Dossier de candidature de Rio de Janeiro à l'accueil des Jeux Olympiques et
Paralympiques de 2016, Rio 2016 Candidature Committee, vol. 2, p. 100.
‒ Ana Beatriz Correia de Oliveira Tavares, Sebastiao Josué Votre, Silvio de Cassio Costa
Telles and Fabiano Pries Devide, Estadio do Maracanã : percepcoes a partir da
reestruturacao arquitetonica de 2010, Revista Brasileira de Ciencas do Esporte, 25 July
2018.
‒ Estadio do Maracana – Rio de Janeiro, Fédération Internationale de Football Association
website, 18 January 2012.
‒ Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho, Structurae website.

51
Former President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and creator of the football World
Cup.

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‒ Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho (Maracanã), stadiumDB.com website.

‒ Etienne Labrunie, Brésil-Uruguay 1950 : « Comme si le Brésil avait perdu une guerre », Le
Monde website, 15 June 2018.
‒ Maracanã copa do mundo FIFA 2014, site Internet de Fernandes Arquitetos Associados.
‒ Laurent Vergne, « Maracanã : La folle histoire de la naissance du Maracanã, ce Colisée
des temps modernes », Eurosport website, 25 June 2014.
‒ Maracanã stadium, designbuild-network.com website.
‒ Maracanã, Superintendecia de Desportos do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (SUDERJ)
website.
‒ Maracanã historia, Marcio Guerra Memoria website.
‒ Marc Perelman, L’ère des stades : genèse et structure d’un espace historique
(Psychologie de masse et spectacle total), Infolio. Gollion, 2010, p. 110.
‒ Martijn Giebels, The Architecture of Rio 2016, Architecture of the Games, the Netherlands,
2016, p. 39.
‒ Michel Raspaud, Histoire du football au Brésil, Chandeigne, Paris, 2010, pp. 84-88.
‒ Michel Castellan, « Passion and transformation », Olympic Review, no. 99, April-June
2016, p. 51.
‒ Sergio Leite Lopes, « Le Maracanã, cœur du Brésil », Sociétés et Représentations, no. 7,
December 1998, pp. 129-140.

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R I O 2 0 1 6 : O LY M P I C S TA D I U M

Aerial view of the stadium being renovated (top) / Interior view The athletics track (top) / External view (bottom)
(bottom)

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Also called the João Havelange Stadium before and after the
Games, it was renamed the Nilton Santos Stadium in 2017 after
the famous Brazilian footballer. It is also nicknamed Engenhão.

Location: R. José dos Reis 425, Engenho de Dentro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Status: Existing stadium, renovated for the Games. In use today.

Designers: Carlos Porto, Geraldo Lopes, Gilson Santos and José Raymundo
Gomes (architects)

Cost: Redevelopment work for the Games: 52 million Brazilian reals

Capacity: 60,000 spectators

Dimensions: 284m long and 232m wide

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Additional information: For the new metal roof structure, 1,300 tonnes of steel were
added to the existing 4,000 tonnes. The roof’s two long arches
each measure 284 metres, and the two shorter ones 232 metres.

Construction: September 2003 to June 2007

Official opening: 30 June 2007

Events during the Games: Athletics (excluding the marathons, the 20km race walks and the
50km race walk) and group matches in the football tournaments.

THE PROJECT
The stadium was built by the City of Rio to host the Pan-American Games in 2007, with the
option to increase the capacity from 45,000 to 60,000 – through temporary seating –
incorporated into the design.

As had been set out in Rio’s candidature to stage the 2016 Summer Games, work to renovate
and increase the capacity of the stadium to 60,000 seats was undertaken ahead of the
Games. The athletics track, the electrical system, the toilets, the lifts and the fire protection
equipment, among other things, were revamped as part of this renovation. In addition,
regeneration projects in the neighbouring area of Engheno de Dentro were initiated. The
stadium forecourt was refurbished, as were the surrounding main roads and the railway station
that serviced the stadium. Structural defects in the roof caused the stadium to close for repair
work in March 2013 for nearly two years.

ARCHITECTURE
The multipurpose stadium is oval shaped. Supported by four white steel arches 70 meters
above the ground, the slightly undulated structure of the metallic roof makes it look as though
it is floating in mid-air above the stands. The metal arches, with a diameter of two metres, are
supported by two pillars located outside the stadium.

“The playful, rhythmic repetition in the irregular

arches of the João Havelange Olympic
Stadium, which are its unmistakable hallmark,
are clear exponents of the plastic association
of creative will and the mathematical rigour of
structural calculation.”
Carlos Porto, Geraldo Lopes, Gilson Santos and José Raymundo 52

Concrete structures support the stands and the spectator transit areas. A giant LED screen, 30
metres wide and nine metres high, was installed in the stadium.

52
Senior Principal Architects.

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PARTICULAR FEATURES
The synthetic athletics track was a royal blue colour. It was designed using nanotechnology-
based techniques that took into consideration the humidity and heat conditions in the city.

AFTER THE GAMES

The Nilton Santos Stadium is a primary venue for athletics competitions in Brazil. It is leased
to the football club Botafogo, which oversees its administration. The stadium also hosts
concerts by local and international artists.

SOURCES
‒ Dossier de candidature de Rio de Janeiro à l'accueil des Jeux olympiques et
Paralympiques de 2016, Rio 2016 Bid Committee, vol. 2, p. 96.
‒ “João Havelange Olympic Stadium”, website of Constructalia.
‒ “João Havelange Olympic Stadium”, website of Design Building Network.
‒ Michel Castellan, “Passion and transformation”, Olympic Review, no. 99, April-June 2016,
p. 51.
‒ “Nilton Santos Stadium”, website of Botafago FR.
‒ “Olympic Stadium unveiled after adaptations for the Rio 2016 Games”, website of the
Federal Government, 13 May 2016.
‒ “Prefeitura do Rio reira oficialmente nome de João Havelange do Engenhão”, Folha de
S.Paulo, sport section, 13 February 2017.
‒ “Rio 2016 transport: Olympic Stadium train station renovated ahead of Games”, press
release, website of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, 14 July 2016.
‒ “Rio de Janeiro sets stage for celebration of athletic spirit”, Odebrecht Informa Online, no.
131, July-August 2007.

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TOKYO 2020

Stadium under construction, view of the stands.

OLYMPIC STADIUM

Name: Also sometimes known as the National Stadium and New

National Stadium.

Location: 10-1, Kasumigaokamachi, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, Japan

Status: Being built for the Games on the site of the old national stadium.

Designers: Kengo Kuma and Associates (architects)

Taisei Corporation, Azusa Sekkei Co., Ltd. (contractors)

Cost: ~1.5 billion US dollars

Capacity: Between 60,000 and 80,000 spectators depending on the

configuration.

Dimensions: 72,400m2 (surface area covered by the stadium)

Additional information: -

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Construction: December 2016 to November 2019

Official opening: -

Events during the Games: Athletics (including the start and finish of the two marathons, not
including the two 20km race walks and the 50km race walk),
some of the matches in the football tournaments.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

THE PROJECT
The New National Stadium is being built on the site of the old stadium, which was used for the
Olympic Games Tokyo 1964 and which was knocked down in 2014. The project by British-
Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid was originally selected following an international contest organised
by the Tokyo 2020 Candidature Committee. However, a new bidding process was held and it
was eventually the project by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma that was chosen by the
Candidature Committee. The project is intended to merge harmoniously with the urban and
environmental setting, predominantly making use of natural materials.

ARCHITECTURE
The stadium will comprise two underground levels and five above-ground levels. The various
levels will be surrounded by eaves covered with vertical cedar lattice. The building will be 50
metres high and have a flat roof structure, ensuring a more understated visual impact and
greater harmony with the landscape. The truss of the roof will be made from a combination of
Japanese larch lumber, cedar and steel. A skylight installed on the roof will ensure that a
maximum amount of natural light reaches the field, helping the lawn to grow in particular in
winter. Inside the stadium, the three-tier stands will be arranged in a bowl shape, with the
inclination gradually becoming steeper.

As Tokyo is located in an earthquake zone, the stadium will meet strict earthquake-protection
standards. In order to reduce the impact of deformation in the event of an earthquake or strong
winds, oblique beams and steel braces will be installed on the upper floors. Oil dampers on the
lower floors will absorb the energy unleashed by a potential earthquake. Spectators will be
able to evacuate the stadium from any seat within 15 minutes.

Sustainable energy sources will be used for the running of the stadium. Seasonal winds,
channelled into the stadium via the terraces and eaves, will discharge heat and moisture
generated from the field and the spectators. Photovoltaic cells will be installed on the edge of
the roof, and rainwater will be collected and used for the irrigation facilities for the field and the
stadium’s green areas. A mist-cooling system to reduce the external temperature will be
installed at the entrances and in some of the areas inside the stadium where people are likely
to congregate.

PARTICULAR FEATURES
The architect’s design places a particular focus on harmony between the natural building
materials and the green backdrop of the surrounding Meiji Shrine gardens. Giving priority to
locally sourced materials, various types of plant life native to Japan will decorate the stadium,
and the eaves will be equipped with traditional Japanese stone and paper lanterns, which will
provide the entire stadium with soft light.

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Two areas – the Grove of the Sky, an 850m-long circular walkway on the upper level of the
stadium, and the Forest of the Earth, a space around the stadium connected to the
surrounding parks – are open to the general public, allowing them to relax and enjoy the views
of the city and the surrounding greenery.

“The National Stadium as a « holy place » for

sports in Japan had witnessed many
memorable competitions. Inheriting this history,
the New National Stadium is being reborn as a
center for sports and culture in a new age.”
Japan Sport Council

AFTER THE GAMES

Following the Olympic Games, the stadium will become a new hub for sports competitions and
activities in the region.

DID YOU KNOW?

The general wooden design of the stadium echoes the style of Japanese pagodas and
temples. A traditional technique for laying boards, yamato-bari, will be used for the interior
design of the stadium. Other internal areas, such as the lounges and changing rooms, will
also use wooden décor.

SOURCES
‒ “Interview: Kengo Kuma discusses his upcoming projects at home and abroad”, website of
DesignBoom.
‒ New National Stadium: Development Project Leaflet, Japan Sport Council, n. p.
‒ New National Stadium Development Project: To let you know more about the project,
Japan Sport Council, n. p.
‒ “Olympic Sports - Athletics”, website of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee.
‒ “Tokyo breaks ground on £1.2bn national stadium for 2020 Olympics”, The Guardian, 11
December 2016.
‒ “Tokyo National Stadium: Kengo Kuma replaces Zaha Hadid”, website of DesignBoom, 22
December 2015.
‒ “Tokyo 2020 stadium breaks ground”, news, website of the International Olympic
Committee, 12 December 2016.

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CREDITS

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IMAGES
- Cover: © 2016 / Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games /
FERRO, Alex.
- Document:

1 2

3 4

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Archives.
- Page 12: 1) © 1904 / IOC. 2) © 1904 / IOC. 3) © 1904 / IOC. 4) © 1904 / IOC.
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4) © 1908 / IOC.
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1968 / Kishimoto/IOC.
- Page 63: 1) © 1972. / Olympia Photo, Berlin. 2) © 1972 3) © 1972 / Kishimoto/IOC. 4) ©
1972 / Kishimoto/IOC.

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The Olympic Stadiums of the Summer Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020

- Page 67: 1) © 1975 / IOC. 2) © 1971 / IOC/United Archives 3) © 1976 / IOC. 4) © 1976 /
IOC.
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1980 / Kishimoto/IOC.
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IOC. 4) © 1996 / Kishimoto / IOC.
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Yasuo. 3) © 2004 / IOC / HUET, John. 4) © 2004 / IOC / HUET, John.
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Scott. 4) © 2008 / IOC / TOBLER, Hélène.
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- Page 101: 1) © 2016 / Getty. 2) © 2013 / IOC / EVANS, Jason. 3) © 2016 / IOC / VOGEL,
Friedemann. 4) © 2016 / IOC / MENDES, Buda.
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Games / FERRO, Alex. 2) © 2016 / Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and
Paralympic Games / FERRO, Alex. 3) © 2016 / IOC / EVANS, Jason. 4) © 2016 / IOC /
EVANS, Jason.
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