The Guangdong Olympic Centre Stadium or officially Aoti Main Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

, People's Republic of China. Currently used mostly for

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 ...

matches, the stadium was opened in 2001. It has a capacity of 80,012, making it the largest stadium in the country by seating capacity.

History

Guangdong Olympic Stadium broke ground on 31 December 1998 at the former site of Huangcun Airport. It opened to the public for the Ninth National Games of China in 2001. It was originally planned to help host the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

until a decision was made to construct the

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 ...

in Beijing. The original design for the Guangdong Olympic Stadium was announced in 1999. Taking Guangzhou's nickname, the ''Flower City'', the American

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

firm of

Ellerbe Becket Ellerbe Becket was an independent Minneapolis, Minnesota-based architectural, engineering, interior design and construction firm until 2009, when it was acquired by AECOM. AECOM is ranked as one of the world's largest architectural firms, with ...

designed Guangdong Olympic Stadium's sunscreen roof to resemble layers of petals on a

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

. The design firm stated in its press release: "The stadium bowl grows out of the ground to a sculpted upper edge, like the

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s of a flower. Floating above the bowl is a shimmering

ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mat ...

of roof flowing like a

wave In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (re ...

over the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

s. It parts at the ends and holds the

Olympic flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...

, suspended between the two ribbons. A hotel surrounds a circular opening in the roof that forms a vertical

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...

of light, which at night is visible for a great distance." The stadium's multi-colored seats are positioned in multiple sections that are visually connected via a ribbon pattern.

Major events

* Guangzhou Pharmaceutical F.C. hosted the English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

champions

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

here on 27 July 2007. * Guangzhou Pharmaceutical F.C. hosted Chelsea F.C. on 23 July 2008 in Chelsea's first-ever trip to China. *The stadium hosted the athletics events of the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several event ...

and

2010 Asian Para Games The 2010 Asian Para Games (), also known as the First Asian Para Games, was a parallel sport event for Asian athletes with a disability held in Guangzhou, China. Two weeks after the conclusion of the 16th Asian Games, It opened on December 12 and ...

, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Asian Para Games. The ceremonies for 2010 Asian Games were held at a stand at Haixinsha Island in the Tianhe District.

References

External links

Pictures of the Guangdong Olympic Stadium

{{Coord, 23, 8, 15.56, N, 113, 24, 12.67, E, type:landmark, display=title Football venues in Guangzhou Athletics (track and field) venues in China Sports venues in Guangzhou Stadiums of the Asian Games Venues of the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games athletics venues Tianhe District Multi-purpose stadiums in China Sports venues completed in 2001