The Johan Cruyff Arena ( nl, Johan Cruijff Arena ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and the home stadium of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost equivalent to €140 million, it is the largest stadium in the country. The stadium was previously known as the Amsterdam Arena (stylised as ''Amsterdam ArenA'') until the 2018–19 football season, when it was officially renamed in honor of legendary Dutch footballer

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...

(1947–2016) who died in March 2016. It was one of the stadiums used during

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

, and also held the 1998 UEFA Champions League Final and 2013 UEFA Europa League Final. The stadium also hosted three group stage matches and one match in the round of 16 of the

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

. Both international and Dutch artists have given concerts in the stadium, including

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...

, U2,

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singe ...

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

, Madonna,

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

André Hazes André Gerardus Hazes (30 June 1951 - 23 September 2004) was a Dutch singer and actor. As an accomplished levenslied singer, Hazes recorded 36 studio and live albums, and 55 singles prior to his death in 2004. His music is still well-known in t ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

, and

Armin van Buuren Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted ''A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&nbs ...

. The dance event

Sensation Sensation (psychology) refers to the processing of the senses by the sensory system. Sensation or sensations may also refer to: In arts and entertainment In literature * Sensation (fiction), a fiction writing mode * Sensation novel, a Britis ...

was held in the stadium every year, up until the final edition in 2017. The stadium has a

retractable roof A retractable roof is a roof system designed to roll back the roof of a structure so that the interior of the facility is open to the outdoors. Retractable roofs are sometimes referred to as operable roofs or retractable skylights. The term op ...

and a grass surface. Since 2022, the stadium has a capacity of 56,130 people during football matches, increased from 54,990. The stadium has a capacity of 68,000 during concerts if a center-stage setup is used (the stage in the middle of the pitch); for end-stage concerts, the capacity is 50,000; and for concerts for which the stage is located in the east side of the stadium, the capacity is 35,000. It held UEFA five-star stadium status, which was superseded by a new system of classification.

History

Amsterdam was one of six cities that bid to host the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. In 1986, a new Olympic stadium was designed, with a football field and an athletics track. It was to be built in the area of Strandvliet in Amsterdam Zuidoost. After Amsterdam lost the bid to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in October 1986, the plans for the new stadium were abandoned. In 1987, the Stichting Amsterdam Sportstad (English: "Amsterdam Sports City Foundation") was established, which made new plans for a sports stadium with an all-seated capacity of 55,000. In 1990, a new design was made based on both previous designs, with a football field, an athletics track, and completely covered by a roof. By this time,

needed a new stadium, as their previous home ground, De Meer, was far too small for most of Ajax's games. Since the early 1970s, Ajax had moved its most important games to Olympisch Stadion.The making of Amsterdam ArenA
Amsterdam ArenA. Retrieved 8 June 2008 Indeed, from the 1920s onward, Ajax had played all of their European fixtures and midweek night games at Olympisch Stadion. Once more, the design was altered – the athletics track was removed, the capacity was reduced to 50,000 seats, and the fixed roof was replaced by a

. In 1992, the

Government of Amsterdam The Government of Amsterdam consists of several territorial and functional forms of local and regional government. The principal form of government is the municipality of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The municipality's territory covers the city of Amster ...

authorised the plans for the stadium with a ''Transferium'' where people could transfer from their car to various forms of public transportation. In 1993, the Government of Amsterdam changed the development plan of the location and gave a permit to build the stadium. The first pile of the

deep foundation A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from the surface than a shallow foundation does to a subsurface layer or a range of depths. A pile or piling is a vertical structural eleme ...

of the stadium was placed on 26 November 1993. The construction work, undertaken by Ballast Nedam and

Royal BAM Group Royal BAM Group nv ( nl, Koninklijke BAM Groep nv) is a Dutch construction-services business with headquarters in Bunnik, Netherlands. It is the largest construction company based on revenue in the Netherlands. History The company was founded by ...

, took almost three years. The highest point of the building was reached on 24 February 1995, after the roof construction was raised. The fly-over from the public road to the parking facilities was opened on 13 March 1996. The stadium received 180,000 visitors during the construction work, until the stadium was closed from 1 July 1996 until the opening ceremony. The stadium was officially opened on 14 August 1996 by

Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husban ...

.Wist je dat...
Amsterdam ArenA. Retrieved 8 June 2008 At the grand opening, the queen made a curtain fall inside the stadium. This revealed the world's largest painting ''De Zee'' (English: ''The Sea'') of . Two-dimensional ships were placed on the sea representing the clubs in the ''

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

''.

Trijntje Oosterhuis Judith Katrijntje "Trijntje" Oosterhuis (; born 5 February 1973) is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She formed the band Total Touch in 1990 with her brother Tjeerd Oosterhuis before she started as a solo singer. She represented the Netherlands i ...

sang the

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

"De Zee", composed for the opening ceremony by

John Ewbank John Ewbank may refer to: *John Ewbank (composer), British-born Dutch composer, lyricist and record producer * John Ewbank (climber), Australian rock climber *John Wilson Ewbank John W. Ewbank (4 May 1799 – 28 November 1847), was an English-bo ...

. An eight-day torch relay with 375 runners over 1400 km through the Netherlands reached the stadium. The first runner was

starting in the old stadium De Meer, and the last runner was

Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side ...

arriving in the new stadium. After the grass was revealed and the roof opened, an inaugural football match was played between AFC Ajax and

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

opened the stadium with three concerts with 160,000 people, from her world breaking

Wildest Dreams Tour The Wildest Dreams Tour is the ninth concert tour by singer Tina Turner. The tour supported her ninth studio album '' Wildest Dreams'' (1996). The tour is Turner's biggest outing to date, performing over 250 shows in Europe, North America and Au ...

. The construction of the stadium cost an equivalent of €140 million (at the time, the currency of the Netherlands was the

Dutch guilder The guilder ( nl, gulden, ) or florin was the currency of the Netherlands from the 15th century until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro. The Dutch name ''gulden'' was a Middle Dutch adjective meaning "golden", and reflects the fact that, wh ...

). The stadium combines a retractable roof with a grass surface. This caused some problems in the beginning: the turf's grass would not grow in the shade of the open roof and had to be replaced up to four times a year.

Exterior renovation

In September 2015, plans were presented to renovate the stadium's facade. The renovation should provide better quality and service to visitors by widening the walkway rings around the stadium, creating more room for the visitors and for new facilities (the number of seats remains the same). As a result, the outside of the stadium transforms from a concave shape to a convex shape, drastically altering its appearance. The renovation was completed in 2020, when four matches of the

championship were played in the Arena. Construction works started in June 2017. The first phase is to renovate the east side of the stadium, where construction of the new facade was completed in April 2018.

Name change

On 25 April 2017, it was announced that the Amsterdam Arena would be renamed to "Johan Cruijff Arena" in memory of Ajax legend

. Later that year, on 9 August, it was stated that the name change would take place on 25 October 2017. However, this was postponed as that date proved to be infeasible due to the many matters that needed to be settled, such as arranging compensation for possible loss of income, transferring part of the shares from the municipality of Amsterdam to Ajax and having a discussion with the Cruyff family. On 5 April 2018, it was announced that the stadium would officially change name at the start of the 2018–19 football season. The stadium's new logo was revealed on 25 April 2018, the birthday of Johan Cruyff. According to the spokeswoman of Cruyff's family, the original Dutch spelling of his name (''Cruijff'') was chosen for the stadium's official name "to stay close to the Dutch Johan". The 2018–19 football season started in August 2018.

Building and facilities

The stadium's original architect is the Dutchman Rob Schuurman. The original all-seated capacity was 54,990. After the 2019-20 season, but before Euro 2020, capacity was expanded by 660. The final increased capacity after the 2017-2021 renovation project is 56,120, an increase of 1,130. The original capacity during music concerts – the stadium's maximum capacity – is 68,000 visitors. The parking capacity of the ''Transferium'' is 500 cars (inside); there are an additional 12,000 parking spots outside. The Johan Cruyff Arena is one of two stadiums in the Netherlands that is rated as Category 4 by

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

, the other being the

Feijenoord Stadion Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. The Ajax Museum is located in the stadium, which shows Ajax's more than 120 years of history. The nearest train and subway (metro) station is

Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA (; abbreviation: Asb), previously named Amsterdam Bijlmer (1971–2006), is a railway station in the Bijlmermeer neighbourhood of '' stadsdeel'' (borough) Amsterdam-Zuidoost in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The station has fi ...

. The metro lines 50 and 54 (Amsterdam Central Station and city center) stop here.

Sporting events

Association football

The stadium is the home of

in the

and European matches. The inaugural match on 14 August 1996 was a friendly between the home team

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

and

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

, which ended with a 3–0 win for Milan. The first goal was scored by

Dejan Savićević Dejan Savićević ( cyrl, Дејан Савићевић, ; born 15 September 1966) is a Montenegrin former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Since 2004, he has been the president of the Montenegrin Football Association (FSCG), cu ...

. The first Ajax goal was scored in the first competition match against NAC Breda by

Kiki Musampa Kizito Musampa (born 20 July 1977) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), left winger. Musampa had a journeyman career, taking in notable spells at AFC Ajax, FC Girondins de Borde ...

. The 1998 UEFA Champions League Final when

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

defeated Juventus by 1–0, was played in the stadium. It was also one of the venues in

. And the stadium was the host of the 2013 UEFA Europa League Final, when

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

defeated Benfica by 2–1. It hosts often Dutch national team's international matches, though the Netherlands does not have one dedicated

national stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

for football. In addition, the stadium hosts pre-season friendlies or in the past aswel tournaments, like the

Amsterdam Tournament The Amsterdam Tournament ( nl, Amsterdam Toernooi) was a pre-season association football competition, held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The competition was hosted by Eredivisie club Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena. It was inaugurated in 1975 as the A ...

or games of Ajax's reserve team.

Euro 2000

Euro 2020

The stadium hosted three group stage matches and one round of 16 match at the

, which was postponed to 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Europe The global COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Europe with its first confirmed case in Bordeaux, France, on 24 January 2020, and subsequently spread widely across the continent. By 17 March 2020, every country in Europe had confirmed a case, and all ...

American football

The stadium was home of the

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team

Amsterdam Admirals The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe. History The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to ...

of the

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

, until the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) ended its European competition in June 2007. The team played over 50 matches in the stadium from 1997 to 2007.

World Bowl IX World Bowl IX was the ninth championship game of the NFL Europe League. It was held at the Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam ArenA in Amsterdam, Netherlands on June 30, 2001. The game was between the Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe), Barcelona Dragons, who ...

was played at the Arena in 2001, when the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games ...

defeated the Barcelona Dragons.

Kickboxing

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

is a popular combat sport in the Netherlands, the It's Showtime and K-1 promotions have held a number of fight cards at the arena. Many of the sport's biggest stars such as

Peter Aerts Peter Aerts (born 25 October 1970) is a Dutch semi-retired kickboxer. Known for his devastating high kicks, which earned him the nickname "The Dutch Lumberjack", he is widely considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time ...

Semmy Schilt Sem "Semmy" Schilt (; born 27 October 1973) is a Dutch former kickboxer, Ashihara karateka and mixed martial artist. He stands 212 cm and weighs 171 kg. He is a four-time K-1 World Grand Prix Champion and one-time Glory Heavyweight Grand Slam ...

Badr Hari Badr Hari (born 8 December 1984) is a Moroccan-Dutch kickboxer. He is a former K-1 Heavyweight World Champion (2007–2008), It's Showtime Heavyweight World Champion (2009–2010) and ''K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 and 2009'' finalist. Born an ...

and

Ernesto Hoost Ernesto Frits Hoost (born 11 July 1965) is a Dutch retired kickboxer. A four-time K-1 World Champion, Hoost is considered to be one of the greatest kickboxers of all time. Debuting in 1993 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993, where he came just on ...

have fought there.

Music events

Despite frequent complaints about the acoustics of the Arena, concerts are often held in the stadium.

was the first to perform at the arena during her ''

'', with more than 157,000 people attending the three sold-out concerts on 6–8 September 1996.

performed at the arena during his ''

HIStory World Tour The ''HIS''tory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spanning ...

'' in five sold-out concerts, on 28, 30 September; 2 October 1996 and 8 & 10 June 1997, for a total audience of 250,000 fans.HIStory World Tour – Tour Dates
. Mjbaltic.com.

performed at the stadium nine times: the first, the second, the third, the fourth and the fifth were on 29 June and 1, 2, 5 and 6 July 1998 during their '' Bridges to Babylon Tour'', in front of a total sold out crowd of 261,277 people. The sixth and the seventh were on 19 August – 22 September 2003 during their '' Licks Tour''. The eighth one was on 31 July 2006 during their ''

A Bigger Bang Tour A Bigger Bang was a worldwide concert tour by the Rolling Stones which took place between August 2005 and August 2007, in support of their album '' A Bigger Bang''. At the time, it was the highest grossing tour of all time, earning $558,255,52 ...

''. The ninth was on 30 September 2017 during their 2017 leg of their ''

No Filter Tour The No Filter Tour was a European/North American concert tour by the Rolling Stones which began on 9 September 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. The tour was scheduled to conclude in 2020 but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour ...

''. They will perform there a tenth time on the 13 June 2022 as part of their SIXTY Tour.

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The gr ...

performed at the stadium on 5 June 1999 during their ''

Into the Millennium Tour The Into the Millennium Tour was the fourth concert tour by the Backstreet Boys in support of their third studio album, ''Millennium'' (1999). The tour comprised 123 in 84 cities spanning three legs. The North American legs featured concerts at a ...

''.

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

has been a frequent performer at the arena. Performing to a sold-out crowd for the first time in 1997 on her Falling into You: Around the World tour. During her

Let's Talk About Love World Tour The Let's Talk About Love World Tour is the eighth concert tour by Canadian recording artist Celine Dion. Visiting North America, Asia and Europe; the trek supported Dion's fifth English and fifteenth studio album '' Let's Talk About Love'' (1997 ...

, she performed to another sold-out crowd of 64,652. And most recently, on her

Taking Chances World Tour The Taking Chances World Tour is the ninth concert tour by Canadian singer Celine Dion, in support of her thirteenth French-language and twenty-second studio album '' D'elles'' (2007). tenth English-language and twenty-third studio album ''Takin ...

in 2008 performing to a crowd of 46,969 people.

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

performed at the stadium four times: the first and the second were on 5 and 6 June 2001 during their

One Wild Night Tour One Wild Night Tour was a worldwide tour in support of Bon Jovi's seventh studio album '' Crush'' (2000). Background Originally, One Wild Night Tour planned to kick off the tour in Japan, but instead decided to headline the charity concert on M ...

. The third one was on 3 June 2003 during their

Bounce Tour Bounce or The Bounce may refer to: * Deflection (physics), the event where an object collides with and bounces against a plane surface Books * Mr. Bounce, a character from the Mr. Men series of children's books Broadcasting, film and TV * ''B ...

. The fourth one was on 13 June 2008 during their

Lost Highway Tour The Lost Highway Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American rock band Bon Jovi in support of their 10th studio album, '' Lost Highway''. It took place from October 2007 to July 2008. Originally planned as a 2008 greatest hits tour, the tour wa ...

, in front of a sold out crowd of 34,512 people.

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

played at the venue eight times: twice in July 2003 as part of '' Weekends of Mass Distraction''; four dates in June 2006, as part of his ''

Close Encounters Tour The Close Encounters Tour was a concert tour by British recording artist, Robbie Williams. Running from April to December 2006, the tour supported Williams' sixth studio album, ''Intensive Care''. To date, it was the singer's largest tour, play ...

''; and on 13 July 2013 during the ''

Take The Crown Stadium Tour The Take the Crown Stadium Tour was a concert tour by British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams in promotion of his ninth studio album ''Take the Crown (album), Take the Crown'' The tour was his first solo tour since the Close Encounters Tour ( ...

''. He also performed on 18 July 2011 as member of

during their ''

Progress Live Progress Live was the eighth concert tour by British pop group Take That. The tour, sponsored by Samsung, supported their sixth studio album, ''Progress'' as they visited major cities in the UK and Europe. It was the first tour to feature all f ...

'' tour.

performed a concert in the arena as part of his ''

A Reality Tour A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by David Bowie in support of the ''Reality'' album. The tour began on 7 October 2003 at the Forum Copenhagen, Denmark, continuing through Europe, North America, Asia, including a return to New Zealan ...

'' on 11 June 2004.

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

performed at the stadium on 1 July 2007 during their '' Turn It On Again: The Tour''. The performances of "

Turn It On Again "Turn It On Again" is a song by the English rock band Genesis featured on their 1980 album ''Duke''. Also released as a single, the song reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's second top 10 hit. The lyrics, by Mike Ruthe ...

" and "

No Son of Mine "No Son of Mine" is a song by British rock group Genesis, released as the lead single from their 14th album, '' We Can't Dance'' (1991). The song reached 6 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 12 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (the band's first ...

" were recorded for the group's live album ''

Live over Europe 2007 ''Live over Europe 2007'' is the sixth live album by British band Genesis. It was recorded during the Turn It On Again: The Tour of 2007. It was released in North America by Atlantic Records on 20 November 2007, and in Europe by Virgin Recor ...

''. U2 performed at the stadium seven times: the first, the second and the third were on 13, 15, and 16 July 2005 during their ''

Vertigo Tour The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2004 album '' How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'', the tour visited arenas and stadiums between March 2005 and December 2006. The Vertigo To ...

'', in front of a total sold out crowd of 165,516 people. The fourth and the fifth were on 20 and 21 July 2009 during their ''

U2 360° Tour The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2009 album ''No Line on the Horizon'', the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. The concerts featured the band playing "in the round" o ...

'', in front of a total sold out crowd of 125,886 people. The band's sixth and seventh shows were for their ''

The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 and The Joshua Tree Tour 2019 were two worldwide concert tours by rock band U2 commemorating the 30th anniversary of their 1987 album ''The Joshua Tree''. The 2017 tour visited stadiums over four legs: North America f ...

'' on 29 and 30 July 2017. Madonna has performed at three different dates, with all tickets sold out. There were two presentations by the ''

Confessions Tour The Confessions Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna, launched in support of her tenth studio album, ''Confessions on a Dance Floor'' (2005). The tour began in Inglewood on May 21, 2006, and ended in Tokyo on ...

'' in 2006 and one presentation by ''

Sticky & Sweet Tour The Sticky & Sweet Tour was the eighth concert tour by American singer Madonna, to promote her eleventh studio album, ''Hard Candy (Madonna album), Hard Candy'' (2008). It was Madonna's first major venture under a new ten-year 360 deal with Liv ...

'' in 2008. Dutch music group

De Toppers De Toppers (), also known internationally as the Toppers, is a Dutch supergroup, consisting of René Froger, Gerard Joling, Jeroen van der Boom and Jan Smit. Gordon Heuckeroth, one of the founding members, left the group in 2011. The group has ...

have played at the venue 42 times since 2005. No other act has performed in the arena that often. In October 2008, the stadium was home to Dutch children's group

Kinderen voor Kinderen (, ) is a Dutch children's choir maintained by public broadcaster BNNVARA. Since 1980 the choir has released one album of new children's songs each year, and is probably the only act from the 1980s with consecutive albums in the top 40 char ...

. The Arena was selected because of the seating requirement for the group's new format of concert called the "Mega Spektakel". The group had two concerts in the stadium on the same day due to high volume of people, mostly children that attended.

performed a show on 23 June 2009 as part of their ''

Black Ice World Tour The Black Ice World Tour was a 2008–2010 concert tour by Australian rock band AC/DC, in support of their fifteenth studio album ''Black Ice'', which was released on 20 October 2008. This tour had 8 legs around the world lasting more than 20 m ...

''. The stadium is also host to dance event

André Rieu André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (; is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra. Rieu and his orchestra have turned classical and waltz music into a worldwide concert touring act. He r ...

and his orchestra plus about 650 brass instrument players had a huge concert in 2011.

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

performed a show on 4 June 2013 as part of their ''

The 2nd Law World Tour The 2nd Law World Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English alternative rock band Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of lit ...

''. On 8 September 2013, former

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

member Roger Waters performed a show of his

The Wall Live ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Concert Tour. On 24 and 25 June 2014, boy band

performed in the arena as part of their '' Where We Are Tour''.

performed at the venue as part of her ''

Anti World Tour The Anti World Tour (stylized as ANTI World Tour) was the seventh concert tour by Barbadian singer Rihanna, in support of her eighth studio album, '' Anti'' (2016). The tour was announced on November 15, 2015 and began on March 12, 2016, in Ja ...

'' on 17 June 2016.

performed 2 concerts on 23 June 2016 and 24 June 2016 as part of their ''

A Head Full of Dreams Tour The A Head Full of Dreams Tour was the seventh concert tour undertaken by British rock band Coldplay. It was announced on 27 November 2015 in support of their seventh studio album, ''A Head Full of Dreams'', and marked a return to live perform ...

''.

performed at the venue on 16 July 2016 as a part of her ''

Formation World Tour The Formation World Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer Beyoncé in support of her sixth studio album, ''Lemonade'' (2016). The all-stadium tour was announced following her guest appearance at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show. T ...

''. The concert sold out within 20 minutes.

played the venue twice in May 2017 as part of his the Best of Armin Only world tour in celebration of 20 years in music. He was the First Solo DJ to do so. Beyonce &

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

performed at the venue on 19 and 20 June 2018 as a part of their ''

OTR II The On the Run II Tour was the second co-headlining stadium tour by American singer Beyoncé and rapper Jay-Z. The tour began on June 6, 2018, in Cardiff and ended on October 4, 2018, in Seattle. This is their first tour together since On the R ...

'' tour. A second show was added due to the first one selling out within an hour.

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

will perform at the venue on 23 and 24 June 2023 as part of his After Hours til Dawn Tour. The arena was listed as a potential venue in Amsterdam's bid to host the 65th Eurovision Song Contest. However, the city later withdrew its bid due to venues, including the Johan Cruyff Arena, being fully booked.

References

External links

*
Ajax Museumaannemer amsterdam
{{Authority control Sports venues in Amsterdam Football venues in the Netherlands Retractable-roof stadiums in Europe UEFA Euro 2000 stadiums in the Netherlands AFC Ajax facilities Sports venues completed in 1996 Music venues in the Netherlands Amsterdam-Zuidoost UEFA Euro 2020 stadiums Johan Cruyff 1996 establishments in the Netherlands