The Olympic Stadium of Athens "

Spyros Louis Spyridon Louis ( el, Σπυρίδων Λούης , sometimes transliterated ''Spiridon Loues''; 12 January 1873 – 26 March 1940), commonly known as Spyros Louis (Σπύρος Λούης), was a Greeks, Greek water carrier who won the first mod ...

" ( el, Ολυμπιακό Στάδιο Αθηνών "Σπύρος Λούης", ''Olympiakó Stádio Athinon "Spyros Louis"'') 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 ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It is a part of the

Athens Olympic Sports Complex The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens Spiros Louis ( el, Ολυμπιακό Αθλητικό Κέντρο Αθηνών "Σπύρος Λούης", ''Olympiakó Athlitikó Kéntro Athinón "Spýros Loúis"'') or OACA ()), is a sport facilities c ...

and is named after the first modern Olympic

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

gold medalist in

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

. The stadium used to host some of the biggest sport clubs in Greece like

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

and

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

. The stadium served as the main stadium during the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

History

Located in the area of

Marousi Marousi or Maroussi ( el, Μαρούσι, also Αμαρούσιο ''Amarousio'') is a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Marousi dates back to the era of the History of Athens, ancient Athenian Republic; its ancie ...

, the stadium was originally designed in 1980 and built in 1980–1982. It was completed in time to host the

1982 European Championships in Athletics The 13th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 September to 12 September 1982 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. Men's results Compl ...

. It was inaugurated by the

President of Greece The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Rep ...

at the time,

Konstantinos Karamanlis Konstantinos G. Karamanlis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Καραμανλής, ; 8 March 1907 – 23 April 1998), commonly Anglicisation, anglicised to Constantine Karamanlis or just Caramanlis, was a four-time prime minister and List of he ...

, on 8 September 1982. One year later, in 1983, OAKA Stadium hosted the 1983 European Cup Final between Hamburger SV and Juventus (1-0). In 1987, the stadium hosted the

1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1986–87 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Ajax in the final against Lokomotive Leipzig. The young Ajax side, which included the likes of Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Dennis Bergkamp, was guided to victory by its coac ...

final between Ajax and Lokomotiv Leipzig (1-0). Olympic stadium is an UEFA category four stadium and is the largest stadium in Greece. In 1994, OAKA Stadium hosted their second 1994 UEFA Champions League Final, this time contested between AC Milan and Barcelona (4-0). It also hosted several events of the 1991 Mediterranean Games and the

1997 World Championships in Athletics The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 19 ...

, sought in order to prove that it was capable of hosting major sporting events after the failure of Athens to win the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

but successfully hosting the

. It was extensively renovated in time for the

and the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

, including a roof designed by

Santiago Calatrava Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951) is a Spanish architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter, particularly known for his bridges supported by single leaning pylons, and his railway stations, stadiums, and museums, whose sculpt ...

, and innovatively positioned with

Enerpac The Enerpac business is a division of Actuant (), a $1.5 billion diversified global manufacturing company, and is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Enerpac primarily plays in the high-pressure hydraulics market with locations in Nort ...

hydraulics. The roof was added atop the sidelines and completed just in time for the opening of the Games. The stadium was then officially re-opened on 30 July 2004. It hosted the

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

events and the

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 ...

finals at the Olympics and the

at the Paralympics.2004 Summer Olympics official report.
Volume 2. pp. 242, 324. It also hosted the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

on 13 August 2004, and the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

on 29 August 2004 along the paralympics ceremonies on 17 and 28 September. In 2007, OAKA Stadium hosted the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final between AC Milan and Liverpool (2-1). The stadium's attendance was reduced to 72,000 for the Olympics, the initial capacity was some 75,000, though only 69,618 seats were made publicly available for the track and field events and slightly more for the football final. The turf system consists of natural grass in modular containers which incorporate irrigation and drainage systems.

Design

Construction

The foundation stone for the Olympic Stadium was laid on 7 January 1980. Its construction was revolutionary and involved the use of a prefabrication method for the 34 sets of pillars supporting the stands (each weighed 600 tons). About 26,000 seats of the lower tier were covered, while the stadium's most striking feature were the four leaning pillars that held its floodlights, each being 62 metres tall. The Athens Olympic Stadium was finally inaugurated in September 1982.

Renovation

The stadium was renovated from 2002 until 2004 adding the famous roof for the

. The central lawn of O.A.K.A consists of approximately 6.000 plastic capsules inside which thermophile lawn is grown. The capsules are adjoining, their size is 1.2*1.2m and are situated on a flat cement surface of two acres, flanked by two lateral drainage channels. The irrigation of the lawn is achieved by 35 automatically elevated water launchers with the use of programmed irrigation. This system allows the movement of the lawn to an area outside the stadium in order for the surface to be used for different events. Thirty-four entrance gates provide access to the stands. Odd gate numbers (1 to 35) lead to the lower and even numbers (2 to 34) to the upper tier. There are no gates numbered 18 and 36, since the two video-scoreboards are located in their place. Additionally, the stadium features 17 VIP boxes and 3 parking lots. Due to its design, the stadium's tribunes have the ability to empty within 7 minutes. Competition Area

Roof

, the roof cost €130 million. The two giant arcs have a total span of 304m and a maximum height of 72m. The roof has a total weight of 18,700 tons coverering by 5,000 polycarbonate panels which covers an area of 25,000 square metres. The west arc was assembled 72m from its final position and the east 65m - both later slid into place. The roof is designed to withstand winds up to 120 km/h and earthquakes up to magnitude 8.

Transport

Access by: Car - Exit the city centre to the north via Kifissias Avenue and just follow the road signs to "OAKA". If you come from the Attiki Odos ring road, use exit 11 ("Kifissias - Ol. Stadium"). Bus - Use X14 from Syntagma Square in central Athens. It will take you directly to the Olympic Stadium in at least 30 minutes. Metro - It is a 25-minute ride from the city centre. Use Line 1 and get off at "Irini" or "Neratziotissa". From there, it is a 10-minute walk from the Olympic Complex to the stadium.

Events

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 ...

was booked to perform on a 75,000 sold-out concert as part of his ''Dangerous'' World Tour on 10 October 1992, but due to the singer’s health problems, the show had to be canceled. *The Olympic Stadium has been used as home ground in various times by the three big football clubs of Athens,

and

. *

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 ...

performed there on 31 May 1989 as part of their

A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour was two consecutive concert tours by the British rock band Pink Floyd. The ''A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour'' ran from September 1987 to August 1988; the ''Another Lapse tour'' ran from May–July 1989. Both t ...

. *It hosted the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final on 23 May between

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 seasons ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, which was won 2–1 by Milan, the 1994 Final between Milan and

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 ...

, which was also won by Milan, the 1983 Final, as well as the 1987 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final. *The stadium played host to

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

Human Rights Now! Human Rights Now! was a worldwide tour of twenty benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on it ...

Benefit Concert on 3 October 1988. The show was headlined by

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

and

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

and also featured

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

& The

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason". Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

, and

George Dalaras George Dalaras ( Γιώργος Νταλάρας, 29 September 1949) is a Greek musician and singer. He is one of the most prominent figures of Greek musical culture. In October 2006, he was selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Ag ...

. *

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

performed before a sold-out crowd of 75,637 at the stadium on 27 September 2008, as part of her

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

. * U2 performed in front of a crowd of 82,662 during their 360° Tour on 3 September 2010, making it the highest attended concert ever held in Greece. *

Pyx Lax Pyx Lax (Πυξ Λαξ, meaning "punching and kicking") is a Greek rock band. Originally formed in 1989, they released their first recording in 1990, and had a critical and commercial success in the Greek music industry for fifteen years, before ...

performed also in front of a crowd of about 80,000, during their reunion tour on 13 July 2011. It was the highest attended Greek-band-concert. *

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 during their Bon Jovi Live Tour on 20 July 2011. The show was successful and almost sold out. *

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

performed in front of a crowd of about 60,000, as part of their worldwide concert tour on 4 September 2012. *

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

performed a show for her world tour, ArtRave: The Artpop Ball, in front of 26,860 people. *

Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ev ...

International Conventions 2014 and 2019. Attendees from all over the world.

Concerts

Gallery

File:Olympic flame at opening ceremony.jpg, Olympic flame at the opening ceremony of

File:Paralympics Opening Ceremony.jpg,

opening ceremony File:Greece v Malta, 17 Nov 2007 (02).jpg, Greece vs Malta (2007) File:AC Milan team celebrate.jpg, Players of

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

celebrate after the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final File:Olympic Stadium at Athens before a home game of Panathinaikos on February 2, 2013.jpg, Olympic Stadium at Athens before a home game of Panathinaikos on 2 February 2013. , Panathinaikos fans at Olympic Stadium

References

External links

Official site
Stadia Greece {{Authority control Sports venues completed in 1982 Football venues in Greece Athletics (track and field) venues in Greece

Olympic stadiums Venues of the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic athletics venues Olympic football venues Multi-purpose stadiums in Greece Olympiacos F.C. Panathinaikos F.C. AEK Athens F.C.

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 ...

1982 establishments in Greece Acropolis Rally Athletics in Athens