Palasport Olimpico, officially operating with the sponsored name Pala Alpitour except during events prohibiting sponsorship names when it is usually known as simply PalaOlimpico, or occasionally PalaIsozaki after its architect, is a multi-purpose

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

located within Torino Olympic Park in the Santa Rita district of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Opened in December 2005, the arena has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 12,350 when it is configured for

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

, and it is the largest indoor sporting arena in Italy. The arena was originally built at a cost of €87 million, for the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

, and along with the

Torino Esposizioni Torino Esposizioni is an exhibition hall and convention centre in Turin, Italy which was primarily completed in 1948, designed by Pier Luigi Nervi. The building is made with primarily ''ferrocemento'' and glass. Ferrocemento is a form of concrete ...

, it hosted the

events. It is a few metres east of the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

. On 8 August 2014, the arena was renamed to Pala Alpitour following a sponsorship deal with Italian travel company and in November 2020 became the fifth arena, the first in Italy, to be admitted as a member to the International Venue Alliance circuit.

Construction

The design of the building was the subject of an international competition, which was won in June 2002. The winning bid consisted of a team composed of

Arata Isozaki Arata Isozaki (磯崎新, ''Isozaki Arata''; born 23 July 1931) is a Japanese architect, urban designer, and theorist from Ōita. He was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in 1986 and the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2019. Biography Isozaki was ...

and

Andrea Maffei Andrea Maffei (1798 – 1885) was an Italian poet, translator and librettist. He was born in Molina di Ledro, Trentino. A follower of Vincenzo Monti, he formed part of the 19th-century Italian classicist literary culture. Gaining laurea in juris ...

Associates, who directed the design, with ArchA SpA of Turin, Arup Italia of Milan and Favero & Milan Ingegneria, engineer Giuseppe Amaro and the architect Marco Brizio. The final project bears the joint signature of the architects Isozaki and

Pier Paolo Maggiora Pier Paolo Maggiora is an Italian architect. Biography He was born in 1943 in Saluzzo, Italy. In Turin he received his Master of Arts degree with Carlo Mollino. Maggiora was an apprentice in the ateliers of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Al ...

of ArchA SpA and is part of the larger complex called the Central Olympic Complex ( Torino Olympic Park) consisting of the Olympic Stadium, water sports facility and the park in .

Architecture and design

The futuristic building's exterior has a strict rectangular Cartesian coated stainless steel and glass structure, with a base of 183 by 100 metres. It is spread over four levels, of which two are underground (up to 7.5 metres below ground) and two outdoors (up to 12 metres high). The overall length of the structure is about 200 metres. The structure, designed to be a veritable factory of events, using the words of its architect. The arena is completely flexible and adaptable in its internal structure, and with the arrangement of the stands. Due to a modern system of movable and retractable bleachers, and also the option of a temporary movable deck. The structure's acoustics are also adaptable.

Events

The arena is a kind of "magic box", and was designed to host many different types of events beyond the Olympics. It serves as a venue for events including concerts, exhibitions, trade fairs, conferences, and various sports, such as basketball, ice hockey, curling and volleyball. Since its opening, the Pala Alpitour has become one of Italy's most booked venues for large-scale concerts. It is also the largest capacity venue in Italy for these type of events, with the allowed maximum capacities set at 15,657 for general admission center-stage concerts, and 13,347 maximum capacity for general admission end-stage concerts. In addition to concerts, the arena has also been able to host successful touring shows and musicals over the years such as '' Notre Dame de Paris'', ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'',

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

, and occasionally sporting events including

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

professional wrestling in 2007, 2011, in 2014 and 2018, and the car shows ''Top Gear'' Live in July 2014 and '' Fast & Furious Live'' in September 2018.

Sports

ATP Finals 2021, Medvedev vs Zverev (Italy, 2021)

It was inaugurated on 13 December 2005, with the name PalaOlimpico, during a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

in ice hockey between the men's national teams of

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Between 10 and 26 February 2006, it was the main venue for the ice hockey events of the 2006 Winter Olympics, hosting the main matches of the first group stage and then all those of the final stages of the men's and women's tournaments. In January 2007, the venue hosted the opening and closing ceremonies and selected ice hockey matches of the XXIII Winter Universiade. In basketball, the Pala Alpitour hosted the

2008–09 EuroCup Basketball 2008–09 Eurocup Basketball was the seventh edition of Europe's second-tier level transnational competition for men's professional basketball clubs, the EuroCup, and the first to be contested under the Eurocup name. From the inception of the co ...

final stage, and the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The Palasport was due to host the 2010–11 season's Final Four of the EuroLeague, as announced on February 16, 2010, but the event was later moved to the

Palau Sant Jordi Palau Sant Jordi (, en, St. George's Palace) is an indoor sporting arena and multi-purpose installation that is part of the Olympic Ring complex located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, it was ...

, in

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 ...

. It was one of the three main venues of the

2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for Men Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * '' Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film di ...

, which was held in

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

on July 4–10, 2016. The mixed martial arts events

Bellator 152 2016 in Bellator MMA was the eighth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promoter based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2016. Background 2016 is notable for the launch of sibling promotion Bellator Kickboxin ...

and Bellator 176 were held at Pala Alpitour on 16 April 2016 and 8 April 2017 respectively. The third and final round of the

2018 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship The 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship was the 19th staging of the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The final tour ...

were also held at the venue. From 2021 to 2025, the Pala Alpitour will host the tennis

ATP Finals The ATP Finals is the season-ending championship of the ATP Tour. It is the most significant event in the annual ATP calendar after the four majors as it features the top-eight singles players and top-eight doubles teams based on their results th ...

, marking the first time in history in which Italy will host the tournament.

Music

Eurovision 2022 - Semi-final 2 - Stage and green room (01)

Pala Alpitour has become one of the main venues for music events in Italy. Artists such as

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

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 ...

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 ...

, U2,

Florence and the Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, and ...

, 5 Seconds of Summer, Lana Del Rey,

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

, Renato Zero, Tiziano Ferro,

Il Volo Il Volo (; Italian for "The Flight") is an Italian operatic pop trio, consisting of baritone Gianluca Ginoble, and tenors Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto. They describe their music as "popera". Having won the Sanremo Music Festival 2015, the ...

Elisa The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay uses a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence ...

and

Marco Mengoni Marco Mengoni (; born 25 December 1988) is an Italian pop singer-songwriter who rose to fame in 2009, after winning the third season of Italian talent show ''X Factor''. Since that he has sold over 2.8 million records in Italy, peaking the I ...

have performed in the arena. On 8 October 2021, the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...

(EBU) and the Italian broadcaster RAI announced that the venue would host the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, following Italy's victory at the contest in

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 ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

with the song " Zitti e buoni", performed by Måneskin. The semi-finals of the contest took place on 10 and 12 May, and the grand final on 14 May. It was the first time that Turin hosted the contest and the third time that Italy has hosted the contest overall, with the last being in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in .

References

External links

*
Torino Olympic Park site
{{Authority control 2005 establishments in Italy Venues of the 2006 Winter Olympics Arata Isozaki buildings Indoor arenas in Italy Basketball venues in Italy Tennis venues in Italy Volleyball venues in Italy Indoor ice hockey venues in Italy Modernist architecture in Italy Olympic ice hockey venues Buildings and structures in Turin Sports venues in Turin Sports venues completed in 2005 Music venues completed in 2005