Olympic Stadium

This article contains special characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols.

Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words Olympic Stadium as part of their names, such as stadiums in Amsterdam, Berlin, Helsinki and Paris. Olympic Stadium may also be named a multi-purpose stadium which hosts Olympic sports.^[1]

In the case of the Summer Olympic Games, athletics competitions and the football final are traditionally held in the Olympic Stadium. Exceptions to this have occurred though at the 1900, 1996 and 2016 Summer Olympics as well as at the 2010 and 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games.

Early Winter Olympic Games often used figure skating venues as focal points. These were often designated as the Olympic Stadium, usually hosting the opening and closing ceremonies.

A number of stadiums have been used in more than one Olympics, in those cities that have held the Games more than once.

Lysgårdsbakken was the main stadium of a Winter Olympics and a Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG). Bergiselschanze was the main stadium of two Winter Olympics and one Winter YOG. Olympiahalle jointly shared the Olympic Stadium role with Bergiselschanze during the two Winter Olympics, but not during the Winter YOG. Only one stadium, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, has been the main stadium of two Summer Olympics (and it will be a main stadium a third time during the 2028 games). In addition to the inaugural Summer Olympics, Panathinaiko Stadio was also the main stadium of the only Intercalated Games held. The other, National Stadium in Tokyo was the main stadium hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics (the first in Asia), when the 2020 games chosen to be as the main stadium and was decided to rebuild a new one. In 2022 Beijing National Stadium will join these in being the main stadium at two Olympics, but with a special distinction: it will become the only stadium to have been such at both a Summer and a Winter Olympics.

A number, including both the Panathinaiko Stadio and the Vélodrome de Vincennes, have hosted events at subsequent Olympics. The London Games of 2012 were not opened and closed at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium, the site of the 1948 Olympic Stadium, but instead at a new stadium in Stratford. Wembley was, however, the venue for some 2012 Olympic football matches. Likewise, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was the centrepiece stadium for the 1956 games, later hosted the first games of the Sydney 2000 football tournament. Lake Placid's 1932 Olympic Stadium was utilized in the 1980 Lake Placid games as the speed skating venue. Olympiahalle hosted figure skating and short-track speed skating during the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics. Stockholm Olympic Stadium hosted equestrian events for the 1956 Summer Olympics (while the 1956 games were held in Melbourne, Australia, quarantine restrictions prevented equestrian events from being held domestically, thus Stockholm, Sweden hosted the 1956 equestrian competitions).

Stadia[]

Olympics	Season	Stadium	Native name	City	Country	New/old	Capacity	Existing?
1896	Summer	Panathenaic Stadium	Παναθηναϊκό στάδιο	Athens	Greece	Existing	80,000	Yes
1900	Summer	Vincennes Velodrome (ceremony)	Vélodrome de Vincennes	Paris	France	Existing	50,000	Yes
1900	Summer	(athletics)	Stade Croix-Catelan	Paris	France	Existing		No
1904	Summer	Francis Field		St. Louis	United States	New	19,000	Yes
1906 Intercalated	Summer	Panathenaic Stadium	Παναθηναϊκό στάδιο	Athens	Greece	Existing	80,000	Yes
1908	Summer	White City Stadium		London	United Kingdom	New	68,000	No
1912	Summer	Olympic Stadium	Stockholms Olympiastadion	Stockholm	Sweden	New	20,000	Yes
1920	Summer	Olympic Stadium	Olympisch Stadion	Antwerp	Belgium	New	12,771	Yes
1924	Winter	Olympic Stadium	Stade Olympique de Chamonix	Chamonix	France	New	45,000	Yes
1924	Summer	Olympic Stadium	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir	Paris	France	Existing	45,000	Yes
1928	Winter	St. Moritz Olympic Ice Rink	Badrutts Park	St. Moritz	Switzerland	New	4,000	Yes
1928	Summer	Olympic Stadium	Olympisch Stadion	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Existing, renovated	31,600	Yes
1932	Winter	Lake Placid Speedskating Oval		Lake Placid	United States	New	7,500	Yes
1932	Summer	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum		Los Angeles	United States	Existing, expanded	101,574	Yes
1936	Winter	Große Olympiaschanze		Garmisch-Partenkirchen	Germany	Existing	40,000	Yes
1936	Summer	Olympic Stadium	Olympiastadion	Berlin	Germany	New	110,000	Yes
1948	Winter	St. Moritz Olympic Ice Rink	Badrutts Park	St. Moritz	Switzerland	Existing	4,000	Yes
1948	Summer	Wembley Stadium		London	United Kingdom	Existing	82,000	No (replaced)
1952	Winter	Bislett Stadium	Bislett stadion	Oslo	Norway	Existing	20,000	No (replaced)
1952	Summer	Olympic Stadium	Olympiastadion	Helsinki	Finland	Existing	70,000	Yes
1956	Winter	Stadio Olimpico Del Ghiaccio		Cortina d'Ampezzo	Italy	Existing, renovated	12,000	Yes
1956	Summer	Melbourne Cricket Ground		Melbourne	Australia	Existing	115,000	Yes
1960	Winter	Blyth Arena		Squaw Valley	United States	New	8,500	No
1960	Winter	Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink		Squaw Valley	United States	Temporary		No
1960	Summer	Stadio Olimpico		Rome	Italy	Existing	90,000	Yes
1964	Winter	Bergiselschanze (opening ceremony)		Innsbruck	Austria	Existing	26,000	Yes
1964	Winter	Olympiahalle (closing ceremony)		Innsbruck	Austria	New	10,836	Yes
1964	Summer	National Stadium	国立競技場	Tokyo	Japan	Existing	71,556	No (replaced)
1968	Winter	Olympic Stadium (opening ceremony)	Stade olympique	Grenoble	France	Temporary	60,000	No
1968	Winter	Le Stade de Glace (closing ceremony)		Grenoble	France	New	12,000	Yes
1968	Summer	Estadio Olímpico Universitario		Mexico City	Mexico	Existing	83,700	Yes
1972	Winter	Makomanai Open Stadium (opening ceremony)	真駒内屋外競技場	Sapporo	Japan	New	30,000	Yes
1972	Winter	Makomanai Ice Arena (closing ceremony)	真駒内屋内競技場	Sapporo	Japan	New	11,500	Yes
1972	Summer	Olympiastadion		Munich	West Germany	New	80,000	Yes
1976	Winter	Bergiselschanze (opening ceremony)		Innsbruck	Austria	Existing	26,000	Yes
1976	Winter	Olympiahalle (closing ceremony)		Innsbruck	Austria	Existing	10,836	Yes
1976	Summer	Olympic Stadium	Stade olympique	Montreal	Canada	New	70,000	Yes
1980	Winter	Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium (opening ceremony)		Lake Placid	United States	Temporary stadium at existing equestrian grounds	30,000	No
1980	Winter	Olympic Center Arena (closing ceremony)		Lake Placid	United States	New	10,000	Yes
1980	Summer	Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium	Большая спортивная арена центрального стадиона имени Ленина	Moscow	Soviet Union	Existing, renovated	103,000	Yes
1984	Winter	Olympic Stadium (opening ceremony)	Olimpijski stadion	Sarajevo	Yugoslavia	Existing	50,000	Yes
1984	Winter	Zetra Olympic Hall (closing ceremony)	Olimpijska dvorana Zetra	Sarajevo	Yugoslavia	New	12,000	Yes
1984	Summer	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum		Los Angeles	United States	Existing	92,516	Yes
1988	Winter	McMahon Stadium		Calgary	Canada	Existing, renovated	38,205	Yes
1988	Summer	Seoul Olympic Stadium	서울올림픽주경기장	Seoul	South Korea	Existing	100,000	Yes
1992	Winter	Theatre of Ceremonies	Théâtre des Cérémonies	Albertville	France	Temporary	35,000	No
1994	Winter	Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena	Lysgårdsbakkene hoppanlegg	Lillehammer	Norway	New	35,000	Yes
1996	Summer	Centennial Olympic Stadium		Atlanta	United States	New	85,000	Yes (downsized as Center Parc Stadium)
1998	Winter	Nagano Olympic Stadium	長野オリンピックスタジアム	Nagano	Japan	New	30,000	Yes
2000	Summer	Stadium Australia		Sydney	Australia	New	114,714	Yes
2002	Winter	Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium		Salt Lake City	United States	Existing, replacement	45,017	Yes
2004	Summer	Olympic Stadium	Ολυμπιακό Κεντρικό Στάδιο Αθήνας "Σπύρος Λούης"	Athens	Greece	Existing, renovated	72,000	Yes
2006	Winter	Stadio Olimpico di Torino		Turin	Italy	Existing	28,000	Yes
2008	Summer	Beijing National Stadium	国家体育场	Beijing	China	New	91,000	Yes
2010	Winter	BC Place Stadium		Vancouver	Canada	Existing, renovated	54,500	Yes
2010 Youth	Summer	The Float@Marina Bay	Pentas Terapung Teluk Marina 滨海湾浮动舞台 மரீனா பே மிதக்கும் மேடை (Tamil)	Marina Bay	Singapore	Existing	30,000	Yes
2012 Youth	Winter	Bergiselschanze		Innsbruck	Austria	Existing	26,000	Yes
2012	Summer	Olympic Stadium		London	United Kingdom	New	80,000	Yes
2014	Winter	Fisht Olympic Stadium	Олимпийский стадион	Sochi	Russia	New	40,000	Yes
2014 Youth	Summer	Olympic Stadium	南京奥林匹克体育中心	Nanjing	China	Existing	61,443	Yes
2016 Youth	Winter	Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena (opening ceremony)	Lysgårdsbakkene hoppanlegg	Lillehammer	Norway	Existing	35,000	Yes
2016 Youth	Winter	Håkons Hall (closing ceremony)		Lillehammer	Norway	Existing	11,500	Yes
2016	Summer	Maracanã Stadium (opening and closing ceremony, football)	Estádio do Maracanã	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	Existing	74,738	Yes
2016	Summer	João Havelange Olympic Stadium (athletics and football)	Estádio Olímpico João Havelange	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	Existing, expanded	60,000^[2]	Yes
2018	Winter	Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium	평창 올림픽 스타디움	Pyeongchang	South Korea	Temporary	35,000	No
2018 Youth	Summer	Obelisco de Buenos Aires (opening ceremony)	Obelisco de Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Existing, temporary	N/A	Yes
2018 Youth	Summer	Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Village (closing ceremony)^[3]		Buenos Aires	Argentina	Existing, expanded	15,500	Yes
2020 Youth	Winter	Vaudoise Arena	Vaudoise Aréna	Lausanne	Switzerland	New	9,600	Yes
2020	Summer	Japan National Stadium	国立競技場 (tentative name)	Tokyo	Japan	Existing, replacement	68,000	Yes
2022	Winter	Beijing National Stadium	国家体育场	Beijing	China	Existing	80,000	Yes
2024	Summer	Stade de France		Paris	France	Existing	78,338	Yes
2024 Youth	Winter	Alpensia Ski Jumping Stadium (Opening ceremony)	SCJ 올림픽 스타디움	Gangwon	South Korea	Existing, replacement	8,500	Yes
2024 Youth	Winter	SCJ Olympic stadium (closing ceremony)		Gangwon	South Korea
2026	Winter	San Siro (opening ceremony)		Milan	Italy	Existing	80,000	Yes
2026	Winter	Verona Arena (closing ceremony)		Verona	Italy	Existing	15,000	Yes
2028	Summer	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (cultural opening and formal closing ceremony, athletics)		Los Angeles	United States	Existing, renovated	70,516	Yes
2028	Summer	SoFi Stadium^[†] (formal opening and cultural closing ceremony, possible exhibition sports and football)		Inglewood, California	United States	Existing, newly built	100,000	Yes
2032	Summer	Brisbane Cricket Ground		Brisbane	Australia	Existing, to be upgraded	50,000	Yes

^ †: Under present IOC policy, non-sponsoring corporate naming rights are disallowed on venues during the duration of the Games.^[4]

Other major events held at Olympic Stadiums[]

Venue	City	Events
Olympic Stadium	Amsterdam	1962 European Cup Final, 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, 1981 UEFA Cup Final, 1987 Individual Speedway World Championship Finals, 1992 UEFA Cup Final, 2016 European Athletics Championships
Panathenaic Stadium	Athens	1967–68 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup, 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games
Olympiako Stadio Athinas 'Spyros Louis'	Athens	1983, 1994 and 2007 UEFA Champions League Finals, 1991 Mediterranean Games 1997 World Championships in Athletics, 2005 and 2006 WRC Acropolis Rally SuperSpecial Stage, 2006 IAAF World Cup
Centennial Olympic Stadium	Atlanta	1999 World Series, 2000 MLB All-Star Game (as Turner Field)
Olympic Stadium	Barcelona	1989 IAAF World Cup, 2003 World Police and Fire Games, 2010 European Athletics Championships
Beijing National Stadium	Beijing	2009 Race of Champions, 2015 World Championships in Athletics, 2017 League of Legends World Championship
Olympic Stadium	Berlin	1974 FIFA World Cup, 1994 IPC Athletics World Championships, annual IAAF Golden League (1998–2009), 2006 FIFA World Cup, 2009 World Championships in Athletics, 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, 2015 UEFA Champions League Final, 2018 European Athletics Championships, annual DFB-Pokal final
Brisbane Cricket Ground	Brisbane	2020 AFL Grand Final
McMahon Stadium	Calgary	Five Grey Cups, 1972 and 1978 CFL All-Star Games, 1997 World Police and Fire Games
Olympic Stadium	Helsinki	1957 Bandy World Championship, 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, 1971, 1994, and 2012 European Athletics Championships, UEFA Women's Euro 2009, 2022 UEFA Super Cup^[‡].
Bergisel Ski Jump	Innsbruck	1968 and 2005 Winter Universiades, 1933, 1985, and 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, annual FIS Ski Jumping World Cup
Olympic Stadium	London	2015 Race of Champions, 2015 Rugby World Cup, 2017 World Para Athletics Championships, 2017 World Championships in Athletics, 2018 Athletics World Cup, 2021 Rugby League World Cup^[‡]
Wembley Stadium	London	Original stadium: 1963, 1968, 1971, 1978, and 1992 European Cup Finals, 1966 FIFA World Cup, 1989-1992 Rugby League World Cup, WWF SummerSlam 1992, 1995 Rugby League World Cup, UEFA Euro 1996, annual FA Cup final, League Cup final, and FA Charity Shield Current stadium: 2007 and 2008 Race of Champions, 2011, 2013, and 2024 UEFA Champions League Finals^[‡], 2013 Rugby League World Cup, 2015 Rugby World Cup, UEFA Euro 2020, 2021 Rugby League World Cup, annual FA Cup final, NFL International Series, EFL Cup final, and FA Community Shield
White City Stadium	London	1934 British Empire Games, 1966 FIFA World Cup
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	Los Angeles	1959 World Series, second 1959 MLB All-Star Game, Super Bowl I (1967), Super Bowl VII (1973), 23 Pro Bowls, 1982 Individual Speedway World Championship, 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games
SoFi Stadium	Los Angeles	Super Bowl LVI (2022)^[‡], 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship^[‡], annual LA Bowl (from 2021)^[‡]
Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne	1992 and 2015 Cricket World Cup Finals, 2006 Commonwealth Games, annual AFL Grand Final
Estadio Olímpico Universitario	Mexico City	1955 Pan American Games, 1986 FIFA World Cup
San Siro	Milan	1934 and 1990 FIFA World Cups
Olympic Stadium	Montreal	1979 IAAF World Cup, 1982 MLB All-Star Game, six Grey Cups, 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
Luzhniki Stadium	Moscow	1973 Summer Universiade, 1999 UEFA Cup Final, 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, 2013 World Championships in Athletics, 2018 FIFA World Cup
Olympic Stadium	Munich	1974 FIFA World Cup, 1979 European Cup Final, UEFA Euro 1988, 1993 and 1997 UEFA Champions League Finals, 1989 Individual Speedway World Championship, 2002 European Athletics Championships, 2012 UEFA Women's Champions League Final
Bislett Stadium	Oslo	1946 European Athletics Championships, annual IAAF Golden League (1998–2009), annual Diamond League
Lysgårdsbakken	Lillehammer	annual FIS Ski Jumping World Cup and FIS Nordic Combined World Cup
Vélodrome de Vincennes	Paris	1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1974 Tour de France closing stages
Stade Olympique de Colombes	Paris	1938 FIFA World Cup
Stade de France	Paris	1998 FIFA World Cup, 1999 Rugby World Cup, annual IAAF Golden League (1999–2009), 2000 UEFA Champions League Final, 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup Final, 2003 IAAF World Championships in Athletics Final, 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, 2007 Rugby World Cup Final, UEFA Euro 2016, annual Coupe de France final, annual Top 14 final, annual Diamond League
Estádio do Maracanã	Rio de Janeiro	1950 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, 2007 Pan American Games, 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2019 and 2021 Copas América
Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos	Rio de Janeiro	2007 Pan American Games, 2011 Military World Games, 2021 Copa América
Stadio Olimpico	Rome	UEFA Euro 1968, 1980 and 2020, 1974 European Athletics Championships, 1975 Summer Universiade, 1977 and 1984 European Cup Finals, 1981 IAAF World Cup, 1987 World Championships in Athletics, 1990 FIFA World Cup, 1996 and 2009 UEFA Champions League Finals, annual IAAF Golden League (1998–2009), annual Diamond League
Makomanai Open Stadium	Sapporo	1991 Winter Universiade
Olympic Stadium	Seoul	1986 Asian Games, 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup finals
Fisht Olympic Stadium	Sochi	2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2018 FIFA World Cup
Stockholm Olympic Stadium	Stockholm	1958 European Athletics Championships, 1999 World Police and Fire Games, 2001, 2002 and 2004 Speedway Grand Prix of Sweden, annual Diamond League
Stadium Australia	Sydney	2003 Rugby World Cup, 2015 AFC Asian Cup, 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup^[‡], annual NRL Grand Final
National Stadium	Tokyo	Original stadium: 1958 Asian Games, 1967 Summer Universiade, 1991 World Championships in Athletics, annual Intercontinental Cup, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 FIFA Club World Cups, 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, annual Emperor's Cup final Current stadium: annual Emperor's Cup final
Stadio Olimpico di Torino	Turin	1934 European Athletics Championships, 1934 FIFA World Cup, 1959 and 1970 Summer Universiades
BC Place	Vancouver	Nine Grey Cups, 1983 CFL All-Star Game, 1989 World Police and Fire Games, 1990 Gay Games, 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

^ ‡: Future event scheduled to take place at venue.

References[]

^ Olympic Stadium Archived 2014-03-13 at the Wayback Machine. Big Olympic Encyclopedia. Moscow 2006.
^ "João Havelange Olympic Stadium". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
^ "El gobierno porteño gastará $15 millones en la Ceremonia de Clausura de los Juegos Olímpicos de la Juventud". Revista Qué. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
^ Murphy, Bill, Jr. "United Airlines Spent $69 Million on This Stadium Naming Deal, But They're Not Getting This 1 Important Thing". Inc. Retrieved 17 September 2019.

External links[]

Olympic Past and Future Stadiums - BALLPARKS.com
Summer Olympic Stadiums (Stadia) 1896 - (2020) on Google Maps (select "Sat View")

[1] Olympic Stadium Archived 2014-03-13 at the Wayback Machine. Big Olympic Encyclopedia. Moscow 2006.

[engenhao-2] "João Havelange Olympic Stadium". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.

[closingceremony2018yog-3] "El gobierno porteño gastará $15 millones en la Ceremonia de Clausura de los Juegos Olímpicos de la Juventud". Revista Qué. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.

[4] Murphy, Bill, Jr. "United Airlines Spent $69 Million on This Stadium Naming Deal, But They're Not Getting This 1 Important Thing". Inc. Retrieved 17 September 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[†]

[4]

[‡]

show v t Summer Olympic stadiums
19th century	Panathenaic Stadium (Athens 1896)
20th century	Vélodrome de Vincennes (Paris 1900) Francis Field (St Louis 1904) White City Stadium (London 1908) Stockholm Olympic Stadium (Stockholm 1912) Olympisch Stadion (Antwerp 1920) Stade Yves-du-Manoir (Paris 1924) Olympic Stadium (Amsterdam 1928) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles 1932) Olympiastadion (Berlin 1936) Wembley Stadium (London 1948) Helsinki Olympic Stadium (Helsinki 1952) Melbourne Cricket Ground (Melbourne 1956) Stadio Olimpico (Rome 1960) National Stadium (Tokyo 1964) Estadio Olímpico Universitario (Mexico City 1968) Olympiastadion (Munich 1972) Olympic Stadium (Montreal 1976) Grand Arena, Lenin Stadium (Moscow 1980) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles 1984) Seoul Olympic Stadium (Seoul 1988) Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (Barcelona 1992) Centennial Olympic Stadium (Atlanta 1996)
21st century	Sydney Olympic Stadium (Sydney 2000) Olympic Stadium (Athens 2004) Beijing National Stadium (Beijing 2008) Olympic Stadium (London 2012) Maracanã Stadium (Rio de Janeiro 2016) Japan National Stadium (Tokyo 2020) Stade de France (Paris 2024) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum/SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles 2028) Brisbane Cricket Ground (Brisbane 2032)