The Quirino Grandstand, formerly known as the Independence Grandstand, is a

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap al ...

located at

Rizal Park Rizal Park ( fil, Liwasang Rizal, es, link=no, Parque Rizal), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an are ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

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 ...

History

Contrary to popular belief, the first Independence Grandstand was not originally located on the present site of the Quirino Grandstand but on the area close to Dewey Boulevard right across the

Rizal Monument The Rizal Monument (original title: ''Motto Stella''; Latin: "guiding star") is a memorial in Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines built to commemorate the executed Filipino nationalist, José Rizal. The monument consists of a standing bronze sculpt ...

and the flagpole. It was completed in 1946 for the ceremony of the

declaration of Philippine independence The Philippine Declaration of Independence ( fil, Pagpapahayag ng Kasarinlan ng Pilipinas; es, Declaración de Independencia de Filipinas); es, Acta de la proclamación de independencia del pueblo Filipino, link=no) was proclaimed by Fili ...

from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

on July 4, 1946.

Juan Arellano Juan Marcos Arellano y de Guzmán (April 25, 1888 – December 5, 1960), or Juan M. Arellano, was a Filipino architect, best known for Manila's Metropolitan Theater (1935), Legislative Building (1926; now houses the National Museum of F ...

designed the original grandstand in the neoclassical design with ornate elements added to the structure such as a triumphal arch at the top with two "wings" that shaded the main galleries, a stage in the form of a ship's bow with a carved figurehead of a maiden representing freedom, and two other figures, representing a Filipino and a Filipina, that stood about tall behind the stage and the central gallery.Macaraig, Twink (host) (28 June 2010)
Grandstands and Grand Plans
.''The Explainer''. ANC..

The current grandstand

The grandstand was later demolished and a new one was built further away from the old site towards near the breakwater and the

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between t ...

where it stands to this day. Designed by

Federico Ilustre Federico Ilustre (1912–1989) was a Filipino architect who worked for the Bureau of Public Works (now the Department of Public Works and Highways). It was during his tenure as consulting architect that some of the country's prominent postwar arc ...

, supervising architect for the Bureau of Public Works, the new Independence Grandstand's design was patterned after the Arellano-designed grandstand, (including the triumphal arch) with a simpler design (without the ship bow stage and the statues) and some

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

influence in the canopy compared to the original. The structure was completed in 1949, in time for the inauguration of President

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (born Elpidio Quirino y Rivera; ; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the sixth president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino ente ...

. Years later after his death, the grandstand was renamed in his honor. Quirino Grandstand was expanded over the years to accommodate more people, and the triumphal arch was eventually gone. Work in the 1990s brought about a return to the structure's neoclassical roots with the addition of some neoclassical elements in the expansion area.

Notable events

The Quirino Grandstand has been the traditional venue for annual Independence Day activities as well as that of many Philippine presidential inaugurations since the 1949 Quirino inaugural. In addition, the grandstand has also been a site for many civic, religious, sporting, and political gatherings. It served as the main venue of the World Youth Day 1995 closing liturgy, the 2000 Gregorian Millennium New Year Celebrations in the country, the

2005 Southeast Asian Games The 2005 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 23rd Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines. This was the third time the Philippines hosted the games and its first time since 1991. ...

Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and the concluding mass of

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

's visit to the Philippines in 2015. SOP held a special episode celebrating

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

's ratings victory at the grandstand on October 10, 2004. Eight years later on January 22, 2012, ASAP of the rival TV network

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of ABS-CBN Corporation, a company unde ...

also held a special episode at the grandstand to celebrate

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival () a ...

. The grandstand grounds was also the site of the 2010

Manila hostage crisis The Manila hostage crisis, officially known as the Rizal Park hostage-taking incident, took place when a disgruntled former Philippine National Police officer named Rolando Mendoza hijacked a tourist bus in Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines, ...

, which strained relations between Manila and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

for a time. From 2020 to 2022, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the grandstand was made as a make-shift drive-thru

COVID-19 testing COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the virus or antibodies produced in response to infection. Molecular tests for viral p ...

facility and later as a drive-thru

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulat ...

site by the

city government.

References

{{Rizal Park Tourist attractions in Manila Landmarks in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Ermita Venues of the 2005 Southeast Asian Games