The Olympiastadion (; en, Olympic Stadium) is a sports
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
at
Olympiapark Berlin
Olympiapark Berlin (German for ''Berlin Olympic Park''), previously the () and the (), is a sports and entertainment complex located in Berlin, Germany. The complex served as the Olympic Park of the 1936 Summer Olympics. in
Berlin, Germany. It was originally built by
Werner March
Werner Julius March (17 January 1894 – 11 January 1976) was a German architect, son of Otto March (1845-1913), and brother of Walter March, both also well-known German architects. Werner March designed Germany's 1936 Olympic stadiu ...
for the
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
. During the Olympics, the record attendance was thought to be over 100,000. Today the stadium is part of the Olympiapark Berlin.
Since renovations in 2004, the Olympiastadion has a permanent capacity of 74,475 seats and is the largest stadium in Germany for international football matches. The Olympiastadion is a
UEFA category four stadium.
Besides its use as an athletics stadium, the arena has built a footballing tradition. Since 1963, it has been the home of the
Hertha BSC
Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...
. It hosted three matches in the
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...
. It was renovated for the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
, when it hosted six matches, including the
final. The
DFB-Pokal final match is held each year at the venue. The Olympiastadion Berlin served as a host for the
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the even ...
as well as the
2015 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2015 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, the 60th season of Europe's premier club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from ...
.
It will host the
2024 UEFA European Football Championship final, including 5 other games.
History
1916–1934: Deutsches Stadion
During the
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...
, the city of
Berlin was designated by the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the
1916 Summer Olympics
The 1916 Summer Olympics (german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1916), officially known as the Games of the VI Olympiad, were scheduled to be held in Berlin, German Empire, but were eventually cancelled for the first time in its 20-year history due to ...
.
Germany's proposed stadium for this event was to be located in
Charlottenburg, in the
Grunewald Forest
Grunewald () is a German forest located in the western side of Berlin on the east side of the Havel, mainly in the Grunewald locality. At it is the largest green area in the city of Berlin.
Geography
The forest occupies, on the western side, 3/ ...
, to the west of Berlin—thus the stadium was also known as ''Grunewaldstadion''. A
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
-course already existed there which belonged to the Berliner Rennverein, and even today the old ticket booths survive on Jesse-Owens-Allee. The government of Germany decided not to build in the nearby Grunewald forest, or to renovate buildings that already existed. Because of this desire, they hired the same architect who originally had built the "Rennverein", Otto March.
March decided to bury the stadium in the ground ("Erdstadion", in German). However, the 1916 Olympic Games were cancelled due to
World War I. In the 1920s the first buildings of a school, the "Deutsches Sportforum" (German Sport Forum), dedicated to the teaching of professors of
physical education and the study of
sport science were built northeast of the stadium site. From 1926 to 1929, Otto March's sons (Werner and Walter) were assigned to build an annex for these institutions, though the finalization was delayed until 1936.
1936–1945: Olympiastadion
In 1931, the International Olympic Committee selected Berlin to host the
11th Summer Olympics. Originally, the German government decided merely to restore the earlier Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) of 1916, with
Werner March
Werner Julius March (17 January 1894 – 11 January 1976) was a German architect, son of Otto March (1845-1913), and brother of Walter March, both also well-known German architects. Werner March designed Germany's 1936 Olympic stadiu ...
again retained to do this.
When the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
came to power in Germany (1933), they decided to use the Olympic Games in 1936 for propaganda purposes. With these plans in mind,
Adolf Hitler ordered the construction of a great sports complex in Grunewald named the "Reichssportfeld" with a totally new Olympiastadion. Architect Werner March remained in charge of the project, assisted by his brother
Walter
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
.
Construction took place from 1934 to 1936. When the Reichssportfeld was finished, it was . It consisted of (east to west): the Olympiastadion, the Maifeld (Mayfield, capacity of 50,000) and the Waldbühne amphitheater (capacity of 25,000), in addition to various places, buildings and facilities for different sports (such as football,
swimming,
equestrian events, and
field hockey) in the northern part.
Werner March built the new Olympiastadion on the foundation of the original Deutsches Stadion, once again with the lower half of the structure recessed 12 metres (39.4 feet) below ground level.
The capacity of the Olympiastadion reached 110,000 spectators. It also possessed a special stand for Adolf Hitler and his political associates. At its end, aligned with the symmetrically-designed layout of the buildings of the Olympischer Platz and toward the Maifeld, was the Marathon Gate with a big receptacle for the
Olympic Flame.
Maifeld
The Maifeld (Mayfield) was created as a huge lawn (11.2 hectares, 28 acres) for gymnastic demonstrations, specifically annual
May Day celebrations by the government. The area was surrounded by 19 metres of land elevation (62 ft), even though the Olympiastadion (to the east) was only 17 metres (55 ft) high. The total capacity was 250,000 people, with 60,000 in the large stands that extended at the west end.
Also located there were the Langemarck-Halle (below) and the
Bell Tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
(rising high). The walls were built with sturdy stone from the area of the Lower Alps, and also feature equine sculptures (work of
Josef Wackerle). This consisted of huge halls built under the stands of the Maifeld. Pillars were raised on which hung flags and shields commemorating all the forces that participated in a battle fought in
Langemark (West Flanders, Belgium) on 10 November 1914, during the First World War. Since 2006, the ground floor is home to a public exhibit providing historical information on the area of the former Reichssportfeld.
During the 1936 Olympics, the Maifeld was used for
polo
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
and equestrian dressage events.
After the Second World War, the occupying forces of the British Army (
Berlin Infantry Brigade) annually celebrated the
King's or
Queen's Official Birthday on the Maifeld and used it for a variety of sporting activities including cricket. Starting in 2012, Maifeld became home to the Berlin Cricket Club.
Bell Tower
The Bell Tower crowned the western end of the Reichs Sportfield planted amid the tiers of the Maifeld stands. It was 77 metres (247 ft) high. From its peak could be observed the whole city of Berlin. During the games, it was used as observation post by administrators and police officials, doctors and the media.
In the tower was the Olympic Bell. On its surface were the
Olympic Rings with an
eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
, the year 1936, the
Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...
, the
date 1.-16. August and a
motto between two
swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
s: ''I call the youth of the world'' and ''11. Olympic Games Berlin'' – although the games were the 10th (Summer) Olympics, they were the Games of the XI Olympiad.
The Bell Tower was the only part of the Reichssportfeld that was destroyed in the war. The
Third Reich used the tower's structure to store archives (such as films). The
Soviet troops set its contents on fire, turning the tower into a makeshift chimney. The structure emerged from the fire severely damaged and weakened.
In 1947, the British
engineers demolished the tower; however, it was reconstructed accurately in 1962. The Olympic Bell (which had survived the fire and remained in its place in the tower) fell 77 metres and cracked and has been incapable of sounding since then. In 1956, the bell was rescued, only in order to be used as a practice target for shooting with
anti-tank
Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...
ammunition. The damaged old bell survives and serves as a memorial.
The recreation of the tower was carried out from 1960 to 1962, once again by the architect Werner March, following the original
blueprints. The present tower became an important tourist destination offering a panorama of Berlin,
Spandau, the
Havel
The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...
Valley,
Potsdam,
Nauen and
Hennigsdorf.
The most significant battle around the Olympiastadion was in April 1945 when the Soviet army fought to capture it. This was during the
final battle of the Second World War in Europe, with the total invasion of Berlin as the
Allies' target. The Olympiastadion survived the war almost untouched; it only suffered the impact of
machine gun shots.
1945–1990: West Berlin era
After the war, the former ''Reichssportfeld'' became the headquarters of the British military occupation forces. The administration settled in the northeastern buildings designed by the March brothers in the 1920s, which the Third Reich had used for official sport organisations such as the Reich Academy of Physical Training and extended by 1936, adding the "Haus des deutschen Sports" (House of German Sports) and other buildings (which belong since 1994 to the
Olympiapark Berlin
Olympiapark Berlin (German for ''Berlin Olympic Park''), previously the () and the (), is a sports and entertainment complex located in Berlin, Germany. The complex served as the Olympic Park of the 1936 Summer Olympics. , a central sporting facility of the City of Berlin). Soon, the British forces renovated war-damaged buildings but also converted interiors to their specific needs (one gymnasium was converted into a dining hall, another into a garage). From 1951 to 2005, the Olympischer Platz had a giant antenna transmitting for all the portable radios in Berlin.
From then until 1994 and their departure, British forces held an annual celebration of the
Queen's Official Birthday in the Maifeld with thousands of spectators from Berlin present. During the 1960s, American military and high school football teams introduced hundreds of thousands of Berliners to American football at the stadium in exhibition games.
During those years,
Bundesliga football matches were played in the Olympiastadion, with
Hertha BSC
Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...
as local team. In the Maifeld, several competitions 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 ...
,
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
and
polo
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
were staged too. In the summers, the Waldbühne resumed its
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
concerts, and playing
movies. The theatre was also used as an improvised
ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
for
boxing matches.
1990–2004: Reunified Berlin
In 1998, Berliners debated the destiny of the Olympiastadion in light of the legacy it represented for Germany. Some wanted to tear the stadium down and build a new one from scratch, while others favoured letting it slowly crumble "like the Colosseum in Rome". Finally, it was decided to renovate the Olympiastadion.
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
chose it as one of the venues of the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
. The
State of Berlin hired a consortium composed of Walter Bau AG and ''
DYWIDAG'' that won the
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
45 million franchise. The consortium took charge of the operation of the facilities together with
Hertha BSC
Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...
and the Government of Berlin after the remodelling. On 3 July 2000, the renovation began with a ceremony presided over by the
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Gerhard Schröder, accompanied by
Eberhard Diepgen
Eberhard Diepgen (born 13 November 1941) is a German lawyer and politician who served as Mayor of West Berlin from 1984 to 1989 and again as Mayor of (united) Berlin, from 1991 until 2001, as member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
E ...
(Mayor of Berlin),
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the fi ...
and Prof. Dr. Ignaz Walter.
2004–present: Multi-purpose arena
The re-inauguration celebrations of the new Olympic Stadium were carried out on 31 July 2004, and 1 August 2004. On that day, Saturday, the party began with performances from
Pink,
Nena and
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...
. It culminated at night with the opening ceremony. On day two, friendly matches were played between different categories of the club Hertha BSC and visiting teams. On 8 September 2004,
Brazil played
Germany.
From 2003 to 2007, the stadium was home to 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 f ...
.
In 2011, the venue hosted the World Culture Festival organized by the
Art of Living where 70,000 people meditated for peace.
In 2018, the venue hosted the
2018 European Athletics Championships
The 2018 European Athletics Championships were held in Berlin, Germany, from 6 to 12 August 2018. The championships were part of the first European Championships with other events happening in the United Kingdom.
For the second Championships in a ...
.
Renovation
With the intention of creating a more intimate atmosphere for football games, the
playing field was lowered by . Approximately of sand was excavated. The lower tier of
seating
Seating may refer to:
General plans:
* Seating plan
In theaters or stadiums:
* Bleacher seating
* Chanin's seating plan
* Club seating
* Continental seating
* Festival seating
* General seating
* Home theater seating
* Movable seating
* Reserve ...
in the stadium was demolished and rebuilt at a completely different angle of inclination.
The roof was extended to cover a total of , with 20 roof-supporting columns carrying a weight of of
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
. The roof rises over the seats and is made up of transparent panels that allow sunlight to stream in during the day. The western portion (on the Marathon Arch) is open to reveal the Bell Tower to the spectators.
The conservation factor of the Olympiastadion as a historical monument was also considered, especially with respect to the preservation of the natural stone blocks. After criticisms, the colour of the athletics track around the game field was changed from red to blue, reflecting the colours of Hertha BSC.
The renovations used of
concrete and of pre-cast reinforced concrete elements. Some of concrete was demolished and removed and of natural
stone was refurbished.
The Olympiastadion was equipped with the latest technology in artificial illumination and sound equipment. It has 113 VIP stands, a set of restaurants, and two underground garages (for 630 cars). The total cost of the remodelling and amplification was €242 million.
Capacity
The new Olympic Stadium has the highest all-seated capacity in Germany. It has a permanent capacity of 74,475 seats.
The upper tier has 31 seating rows at an average slope of 23° and houses 36,455 seats, of which 36,032 are regular seats, 290 are seats on the press stand and 133 are seats in skyboxes. The lower tier has 42 seating rows at an average angle of 25,4° and houses 38,020 seats, of which 32,310 are regular seats, 560 are box seats, 563 are lounge seats (expandable to 743), 4,413 are business seats and 174 are wheelchair spaces.
For certain football matches, such as those between Hertha BSC and
FC Bayern München
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
, the capacity can be temporarily expanded. This is made by the addition of mobile grandstand over the Marathon Arch. The extended capacity reached 76,197 seats in 2014.
The only stadiums in Germany that have higher total capacities are the
Signal Iduna Park in
Dortmund
Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...
and the
Allianz Arena in
Munich. However, the Signal Iduna Park and the Allianz Arena have both seating and standing areas, and their all-seated capacities are lower than that of the Olympiastadion. The total capacity of the Allianz Arena is also lower than the extended capacity of the Olympiastadion.
Tenant
The stadium has been used as the home venue for the Bundesliga's
Hertha BSC
Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...
since 1963. In 1963, the Bundesliga was formed, and Hertha BSC participated by direct invitation, leaving its old stadium (the "
Plumpe
Stadion am Gesundbrunnen was a multi-use stadium in the Gesundbrunnen locality of Berlin, Germany. It was initially used as the stadium of Hertha BSC matches. During the 1936 Summer Olympics, it hosted some of the football matches. It was rep ...
") to use the Olympiastadion. On 24 August, it played the first local match against
1. FC Nürnberg
1. Fußball-Club Nürnberg Verein für Leibesübungen e. V., often called 1. FC Nürnberg (, en, 1. Football Club Nuremberg) or simply Nürnberg, is a German association football club in Nuremberg, Bavaria, who currently compete in the 2. Bund ...
, with the final score 1–1.
However, in 1965, the
German Football Association
The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...
found Hertha BSC guilty of
bribery
Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...
and relegated them to the Regional Leagues.
In 1968, Hertha returned to the first division, and to the Olympiastadion, and in 1971 sold "Plumpe". The second half of the 1970s was quite successful for Hertha BSC Berlin. In 1979, it reached the semifinals of the
UEFA Cup, but was defeated by
Red Star Belgrade. Hertha reached the finals of the
German Cup
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
twice (1977 and 1979). In the 1980s, Hertha had a declining role in the Bundesliga, and fell to the Regional Leagues in 1986, although they later recovered reaching the Second Division (1988–1989).
With the demolition of the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...
in November 1989, a spontaneous feeling of sympathy between Hertha and
1. FC Union Berlin
1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Union Berlin () or Union Berlin, is a professional German football club in Köpenick, Berlin.
The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweid ...
from Eastern Berlin arose, which culminated in a friendly match at the Olympiastadion with 50,000 spectators (27 January 1990). In 1990, Hertha returned to the First Division, although it fell again to the Second Division from 1991 until 1997.
Since 1997, the club has improved, climbing up the Bundesliga table and qualifying for the
UEFA Champions League, with matches against top European teams like
Chelsea and
A.C. Milan.
Notable events
The Olympiastadion held the world record for the attendance of a
baseball game during the 1936 Olympics thought to be over 100,000.
Since 1985, the stadium has hosted the finals of both the
DFB-Pokal and its companion women's tournament, the
Frauen DFB Pokal
The DFB-Pokal Frauen is the main national women's football cup competition in Germany, thus the female counterpart to the DFB-Pokal. It was created in 1980, and since 1991 includes Eastern teams as well. The most recent champions are VfL Wolfsburg ...
. However, it did not host the 2010 final of the Frauen DFB Pokal, which was held at Cologne's
RheinEnergieStadion as part of an experimental test to host the event in a different city.
The stadium hosted five
American Bowls
The American Bowl was a series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States between 1986 and 2005.
The league started the ''American Bowl'' series in 1986 primarily to promote American ...
between 1990 and 1994. The stadium was also home to
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 f ...
, an
American football team in
NFL Europa
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 ...
, from 2003 until the league's operator, the
U.S. National Football League, closed down the money-losing competition in 2007.
The stadium also hosted The World Culture Festival. 2011 was to celebrate 30 years of service to humanity by
Art of Living Foundation.
The stadium also hosts the
Internationales Stadionfest, which also served as an
IAAF Golden League event until 2010. The future of the event is currently unknown.
The stadium hosted the
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...
where
Usain Bolt broke the
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...
and
200 metres
The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...
world records.
1936 Summer Olympics
On 1 August 1936, the Olympics were officially inaugurated by the head of state
Adolf Hitler, and the Olympic cauldron was lit by athlete
Fritz Schilgen. Four million tickets were sold for all the events of the 1936 Summer Olympics. This was also the first Olympics with
television transmission (25 viewing spaces were scattered all over Berlin and Potsdam) and radio transmissions in 28 languages (with 20 radio vans and 300
microphones).
While the Olympic flame had been used for the first time in Amsterdam 1928, in Berlin 1936 a marathon-like tour of the Olympic torch was introduced, from Olympia in Greece, crossing six frontiers with a journey of to Berlin, through
Greece,
Bulgaria,
Yugoslavia,
Hungary,
Czechoslovakia,
Austria and
Germany. The original idea of this
Olympic torch relay was
Carl Diem's, who was a political advisor to Propaganda Minister
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
, specialising in Olympic affairs. The Olympics were the subject of the propaganda film ''
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
'' (1938) by
Leni Riefenstahl.
Among the sport competitions, one of the most memorable events was the performance of the
African-American track and field athlete
Jesse Owens, representing the
United States of America. Owens won the
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
in the
100
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
,
200
__NOTOC__
Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 '' Ab ur ...
,
long jump and
4 x 100 relay. One of the main streets outside the stadium is named Jesse Owens Allee in recognition of his performance. The stadium also hosted the
equestrian jumping,
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 ...
, and
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
events.
1974 FIFA World Cup Group A
Three matches from Group A (
West Germany,
Chile,
East Germany and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
) were played in the Olympiastadion. The third match, Australia vs Chile, was played in torrential rain. The historic match between the two German teams, however, was played in
Hamburg. The hosts,
West Germany, won the tournament.
2006 FIFA World Cup
The following matches were played in Berlin, for the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
:
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup
In 2011, the Olympiastadion hosted Germany's opening match in the
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the even ...
. It was the only match in the tournament to be contested at the stadium.
2015 UEFA Champions League Final
In May 2013, the Olympiastadion was chosen as the venue for the
2015 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2015 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, the 60th season of Europe's premier club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from ...
.
FC Barcelona won their fifth title and completed a second treble.
2024 UEFA European Football Championship Final
It will host the
2024 UEFA European Football Championship final, on 14 July 2024.
Concerts
Cultural references
*The stadium was used as a location scene in the cinematic cold-war spy drama ''
The Quiller Memorandum'' (1966).
*In 2016, the stadium fielded the finish line of the 27th season of MTV's reality-competition series ''
The Challenge'', titled ''
The Challenge: Battle of the Bloodlines''.
Transport
U-Bahn
The underground train (U-Bahn) U2 takes visitors directly to the station Olympiastadion. It's a short walk from there to the stadium (East Gate entrance: 500m, South Gate entrance: 870m). Average travel time: 14 minutes from Zoologischer Garten, 24 minutes from Potsdamer Platz, 34 minutes from Alexanderplatz.
S-Bahn
The suburban rail (S-Bahn) S3 and S9 takes visitors directly to the station Olympiastadion. It's a short walk from there to the stadium (South Gate entrance via exit Flatowallee: 200 m, East Gate entrance via exit Trakehner Allee: 250m). Average travel time: 7 minutes from Spandau station, 14 minutes from Zoologischer Garten, 22 minutes from Friedrichstrasse, 26 minutes from Alexanderplatz.
Bus
With the bus lines M49 and 218 visitors can reach the stop Flatowallee. It's a short walk from there to the stadium. With the bus line 143 visitors can reach the underground station Neu-Westend. From there it is a walk directly to the stadium. Visitors also can take the underground train and exit at the station Olympiastadion.
See also
*
Berlin
*
Football in Berlin
Football in Berlin, the capital of Germany, has a long history. The city contributed 24 of the 86 founders of the DFB, the German Football Association. The DFB Cup Final has been held every year at the Olympiastadion since 1985.
The two main f ...
*
Sport in Berlin
Berlin is a major sporting centre in Germany and Europe. In 2013 around 600.000 Berliners were registered in more than 2.300 amateur sports- and fitness clubs.
Berlin has established a high-profile reputation as a host city of international spor ...
Literature
* "Olympic Stadium Berlin" by Andreas Janowski. Published by Andreas Janowski Verlag under the label "sights-on-audio"
1936 Summer Olympics official report.Volume 1. pp. 141–9, 154–62.
References
External links
Official Olympiastadion Site An illustrative walk along the facilities of the Olympischer Platz.
{{WikidataCoord
Venues of the 1936 Summer Olympics
1974 FIFA World Cup stadiums
2006 FIFA World Cup stadiums
2009 World Championships in Athletics
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup stadiums
UEFA Euro 2024 stadiums
Athletics (track and field) venues in Germany
American Bowl venues
American football venues in Germany
Buildings and structures in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Football venues in Berlin
Gerkan, Marg and Partners buildings
Hertha BSC
SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin
Nazi architecture
Olympic athletics venues
Olympic equestrian venues
Olympic field hockey venues
Olympic football venues
Olympic handball venues
Olympic polo venues
Berlin
Sports venues in Berlin
Sports venues completed in 1936
1936 establishments in Germany
2018 European Championships venues