Olympic Stadium, Munich
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Olympiastadion () is a stadium located in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, Germany. Situated at the heart of the '' Olympiapark München'' in northern Munich, the stadium was built as the main venue for the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
. During the Olympics 70,824 tickets—including the unsaleable—were available for the events taking place in the stadium (including the opening and closing ceremonies). Yet, during the track and field competitions, average audiences of 80,000 to 90,000 people were estimated daily. Also, the stadium has hosted many major
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
matches including the
1974 FIFA World Cup Final The 1974 FIFA World Cup final was the final match of the 1974 FIFA World Cup held in Munich, Germany (formerly West Germany). It was the 10th FIFA World Cup competition, held to determine the world champion among national men's association footba ...
and the UEFA Euro 1988 Final—due to up to 5,000 additional short-term stands, the football World Cup Final in 1974 was attended by 75,200 spectators. The stadium also hosted European Cup Finals in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
,
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
and
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
. Its current capacity is 63,118 seated spectators. The stadium has also hosted various concerts, with capacity up to 77,337 depending on configuration. Until the construction of
Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Munich Football Arena for UEFA competitions) is a Association football, football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely kno ...
for the
2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...
, the stadium was home to Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich. Football is still played at this venue, which is usually used for the
Regionalliga Bayern The Regionalliga Bayern () is the highest association football league in the state of Bavaria () and the Bavarian football league system. It is one of five Regionalligas in German football, the fourth tier of the German football league system, b ...
club Türkgücü Munich. Unlike the Olympiastadion, the new stadium was purpose-built for football alone.


Design

Designed by the German architect
Günther Behnisch Günther, Guenther, Ginther, Gunther, and the variants Günter, Guenter, Guenther, Ginter, and Gunter, are Germanic names derived from ''Gunthere, Gunthari'', composed of '' *gunþiz'' "battle" (Old Norse '' gunnr'') and ''heri, hari'' "army". Gu ...
and the engineer Frei Otto, with the assistance of
John Argyris Johann Hadji Argyris FRS (Greek: Ιωάννης Χατζι Αργύρης; 19 August 1913 – 2 April 2004) was a Greek pioneer of computer applications in science and engineering,Hughes TJR, Oden JT, and Papadrakakis M (2011) ''John H Argyris' ...
, the lightweight tent construction of the Olympiastadion was considered revolutionary for its time. This included large sweeping canopies of
acrylic glass Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a synthetic polymer derived from methyl methacrylate. It is a transparent thermoplastic, used as an engineering plastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and bran ...
stabilized by steel
cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
s that were used for the first time on a large scale. The idea was to imitate the Alps skyline and to set a counterpart to the
1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...
in Berlin, held during the
Nazi regime Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
. The sweeping and transparent canopy was designed to symbolize the new, democratic and optimistic West Germany. This concept was reflected in the official
motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...
: "The cheerful Games" ("Die Heiteren Spiele").


History

Shortly after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, there were first considerations to build a large stadium in Munich, as football gained popularity. A stadium construction on Oberwiesenfeld failed in 1919, due to an objection by the Bavarian state. In 1921, the Teutoniaplatz was opened by the club FC Teutonia, with a capacity of 12,000. In the month after the opening, about 20,000 guests came to a game, which was almost twice the officially allowed capacity. The FC Bayern used the Teutoniaplatz for his home games from 1923 to 1925. Starting in 1911, the TSV 1860 played on the club's own field at Grünwalder Straße in Giesing, which became the largest stadium in Munich after it was expanded to a capacity of 40,000 spectators in 1926. Although the capacity was sufficient for championship operation, the Teutoniaplatz was filled to its limits in international matches: the game Germany against Switzerland in 1926 showed that the demand for tickets in major events was a much higher than the allowed capacity. The 1928 opened fight course on Dantestraße did not meet the expectations of a large stadium. For this reason, the construction of a large stadium on the outskirts of Munich, for example on Oberwiesenfeld, was discussed during the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
, but did not yield any particular results.Armin Radtke: ''Olympiastadion München – Fußballgeschichte unter dem Zeltdach''. Göttingen 2005, S. 10. In the early
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, local politicians of the NSDAP planned the construction of a stadium west of Munich-Riem Airport with a capacity of 60,000 to 80,000, mirroring the Reichssportfeld in Berlin. However, the airport administration resisted and the Generalbaurat of Munich did not set it as a target. With the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the plans were finally rejected. After the end of the war, the crowds flocked back to the football stadiums at weekends, including in Munich. In 1948, 58,200 spectators visited a game of TSV 1860 against 1. FC Nürnberg in the stadium on Grünwalder road, intended for only 45,000 visitors. A year later, 57,000 spectators came to Munich for the semi-final match of the German Championship between Kaiserslautern and Borussia Dortmund. The postwar period is today considered the "golden age" of football in Germany; only since the 1990s, have so many visitors come to the German stadiums. The Grünwalder Stadion, which was destroyed in the war, offered space for 50,000 spectators after the renovation, making it the largest stadium in Munich. However, the Municipal Sports Committee considered the capacity to be too low and sought to expand it to a capacity of 75,000 spectators. The Sports Committee received backlash from local media. For example, the Münchner Merkur asked for the construction of a new stadium on the Oberwiesenfeld in early 1951, after the extended grandstand of the Grünwalder Stadium would have made the construction of the planned Mittlerer Ring as the main access road to the Federal Highway 8 difficult. The major stadium project came to an end with the adoption of the so-called ten-year program on 10 March 1955 which promoted the construction of district sports facilities. Another reason for this decision was the decreased popularity of football in Munich, after the formerly successful city clubs such as TSV 1860, FC Wacker and FC Bayern underperformed. Because of the small capacity of the Grünwalder Stadium, games of the Germany national team had not been held in Munich since 1940. For the big city clubs, the capacity of the Grünwalder stadium was adequate.Armin Radtke: ''Olympiastadion München – Fußballgeschichte unter dem Zeltdach''. Göttingen 2005, S. 12. In 1958, the Bavarian party revived the talks of a large stadium. Both FC Bayern and the TSV 1860 resisted the project, fearing that the capacity would not be exhausted anyway. In 1963, in the last season before the introduction of the Bundesliga, the TSV 1860 won the league championship and therefore secured the starting place in the first league for the following season. In the first Bundesliga season, the TSV 1860 had an average of just under 32,000 spectators per game, which far exceeded the average of the previous years of about 20,000. In 1964, the TSV 1860 qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup 1964/65 by winning the DFB Cup in the preseason, and had constantly more than 30,000 spectators during the course of the competition. In the same year, the FC Bayern became champion of the Regionalliga Süd and qualified for the promotion round to the Bundesliga. The capacity of the Grünwalder Stadium once again proved to be too low. In the following season the TSV 1860 won the championship and FC Bayern the national cup competition. Although the average number of spectators was far lower than the maximum capacity of the Grünwalder Stadium, there were already numerous games in the mid-1960s at which the ticket demand was higher than the capacity of the stadium. Munich was the only German city with two Bundesliga clubs, which at this time always played in the top table positions and were temporarily represented in international competitions. Therefore, the largest stadium in the city was now again found to be too small. In order to maintain the high level of the Munich football clubs, a larger stadium was considered necessary, because the audience still represented the main source of income of the clubs at that time. Meanwhile, Georg Brauchle, then deputy Mayor of Munich, tried to bring the 1972 Summer Olympic Games to Munich. In October 1965, Mayor
Hans-Jochen Vogel Hans-Jochen Vogel (; 3 February 192626 July 2020) was a German lawyer and a politician for the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as List of mayors of Munich, Mayor of Munich from 1960 to 1972, winning t ...
and Willi Daume, President of the West Germany National Olympic Committee, decided to test the city's suitability for the Games. After further talks, among others with Federal Chancellor
Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician and economist affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and Chancellor of Germany (1949–), chancellor of West Ge ...
and Bavaria's Prime Minister Alfons Goppel, they came to the conclusion that an application for the 1972 Summer Olympics could be worthwhile. For this, however, a new and modern stadium had to be built for the city.


Planning

The three square kilometer and largely undeveloped Oberwiesenfeld was selected as the centerpiece of the Olympic Games. Due to the proximity to the city center, Munich was able to promote the games with the slogan "Olympia of the short ways", which contributed to the decision-making process. Since the Oberwiesenfeld had served as a parade ground of the Bavarian cavalry regiment and later mainly military purposes, it was – except for armaments works – free of buildings. From 1931 to 1939 the Munich Airport was located on the Oberwiesenfeld. After the
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the debris rubble of the bombing of the city was piled up, from which the Olympic Mountain emerged. This was intentionally created in an oval shape, so that it could be used as a tribune foundation for a stadium. In 1964, Munich opened an architectural competition for the planning of a large stadium, which was won by the offices of Henschker from Brunswick and Deiss from Munich. Their stadium design was integrated into an overall concept.Armin Radtke: ''Olympiastadion München – Fußballgeschichte unter dem Zeltdach''. Göttingen 2005, S. 18. In the planning of 1965, the stadium was planned to hold around 100,000 spectators, although later the capacity was reduced for the purpose of reusability. The plans were integrated into an overall concept, with the addition of a multi-purpose arena and a swimming pool on a large, concrete surface. Under the concrete slabs, supply systems and parking lots were to be built. On 26 April 1966, the IOC announced that Munich had prevailed against the other candidates Detroit, Madrid and Montreal. Thus the stadium construction was decided. The original plans of the Olympic Park and the stadium were criticized because of a lack of unity in the urban planning. In addition, the Association of German Architects suggested to avoid any monumentality at the sports facilities because of the Nazi past. The plans were finally rejected. In February 1967, an architectural competition was again advertised, in which by the deadline of 3 July 1967 a total of 104 drafts were submitted, one of which came from the architectural firm Behnisch & Partner. The architect Günter Behnisch and his employee Fritz Auer planned to build the stadium, the Olympic Hall and the swimming pool closely adjacent to each other west of the Olympic Tower, for which the base already existed.Florian Kinast: ''Es begann mit einem Damenstrumpf – 40 Menschen – 40 Geschichten – Erzählungen aus dem Olympiapark''. München 2012, S. 25. When a model was built at a scale of 1: 1000, the employee Cordel Wehrse came up with the idea of laying a tent roof construction over the three buildings. He had become aware of Frei Otto's tent roof construction at the World Fair in Montreal through a newspaper article. Together with Carlo Weber and Heinz Isler the model was supplemented with wooden sticks and parts of a women's stocking. The architects thought of the Olympic roof as a circus tent. Finally, the model was submitted on the deadline. It was already eliminated after the first round by the jury, as it was considered too daring. However, the juror Egon Eiermann intervened and campaigned together with Mayor Hans-Jochen Vogel and NOK President Willi Daume, among others, for the model. Ultimately, the reviewers voted for the plan of Behnisch & Partner, which emerged as the winner of the competition. The decision was announced on 13 October 1967. In addition to the stadium designed for 90,000 spectators, which was then reduced to 70,824 during the Olympic Games. The model convinced with its surrounding landscape architecture and the tent roof construction. Thus, it fulfilled the leitmotif of the games: human scale, lightness, bold elegance and unity of the landscape with nature. In addition, the possibility of reuse was given. Even with regard to short distances, the model convinced the jury.


Erection

To make room for the arena, the terminal building of the old airport had to be blown up. On 9 June 1969 work began on the stadium, the multi-purpose Olympic arena and swimming pool. However, it was only on 14 July 1969 with the laying of the cornerstone in a symbolic ceremony that the construction officially begun. In addition to the three buildings emerging on the Oberwiesenfeld, the Werner von Linde Hall, a volleyball hall, the Olympic Radstadion, the Olympic Village and various other buildings such as stations for
U-Bahn Rapid transit in Germany consists of four systems and 14 systems. The , commonly understood to stand for ('underground railway'), are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while the or ('city rapid railway') are c ...
and
S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...
were built. During the time of the construction there was a spirit of optimism in Munich. The inner city received a pedestrian zone between
Marienplatz Marienplatz (English language, English: Mary's Square, i.e. St. Mary, Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady's Square) is a town square, central square in the city centre of Munich, Germany. It has been the city's main square since 1158. History During ...
and the Stachus and the metro was implemented. on the Oberwiesenfeld alone, there were 60 construction sites. From a total of 1.35 billion German marks, 137 million were used in the construction of the Olympic Stadium and another 170.6 million in the tent roof. About 5,000 construction workers worked at the construction site for more than one million hours. Contrary to the custom of German construction, the Olympic Stadium was built largely without prefabricated parts. According to Behnisch, the stadium was to be a "democratic sports venue" according to the ideas of the Mayor of Munich Hans-Jochen Vogel and the specifications of the Federal Chancellor
Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and concurrently served as the Chancellor ...
, creating a contrast to the
1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...
in Berlin during the period of National Socialism, the hitherto single summer Olympics in Germany. Since the time of National Socialism, Munich had the reputation of being the "capital of the Nazi movement". The Olympics were intended to help improve Munich's reputation. The foundation's deed stated that the planned games should "bear witness to the spirit of our people in the last third of the 20th century". Behnisch wanted Frei Otto as a partner architect, whose tent roof construction at the EXPO 1967 in Montreal was a model for the stadium tent roof. Otto had already been involved in numerous construction projects with suspended and membrane structures and became the development consultant for the Olympiastadion tent roof construction. In addition to Behnisch and Otto, an architect team was also formed to realize the roof construction, including Fritz Leonhardt and Wolf Andrä. The planning management was done by Fritz Auer. Otto developed parts of the roof by means of the trial-and-error principle by making larger models of the roof construction, while Andrä and Leonhardt developed the roof with a CAD program elsewhere. Under the direction of civil engineer Jörg Schlaich, the roof over the stadium was completed on 21 April 1972. The current roof covers around 40,000 seats. Plans to cover an additional 15,000 seats in the eastern stands of the stadium - for the Olympic Games, respectively the football World Cup 1974 in West Germany - with a separate tent roof were initially developed by Behnisch and his architectural team from 1964 to 1967. But the additional roof was never completed; only the two main foundations to hold the roof were built, and they are still visible; one in each of the curves: behind, respectively under the existing roof. (In total some 60,000 seats would have been covered by the two separate tent roofs.) Already in the summer of 1970 the shell of the buildings was finished and on 23 July 1970 the topping-out ceremony was celebrated. The plans for the stadium had forgotten to allocate cabins for football teams in the stadium interior. For this reason, from 24 May 1972 to the official opening of the stadium on 26 May 1972, two medical rooms were provisionally converted into changing rooms. There was enough room to set up a room for paramedics and referees as well. Later, the cabins were further equipped and remained in place. At the turn of the year 1971/1972 the main works were finished and at the end of June 1972 the finished buildings were handed over to the organizing committee. The planning, construction and financing of the buildings were controlled by the 1967 founded Olympia-Baugesellschaft mbH Munich, which was founded by the
Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...
, the Free State of Bavaria and the City of Munich. The stadium is property of the Olympiapark München GmbH, a society wholly owned by the City of Munich's Referat für Arbeit und Wirtschaft.


Post Olympic legacy

Following the Olympics, the stadium became the home of
FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional association foo ...
. In 1979 the ground was host to the 1979 European Cup Final in which
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
won the first of their consecutive European Cups. In the 1990s Bayern Munich's rivals
TSV 1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's association football, football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football league system ...
moved into the stadium. The two teams coexisted in the ''Olympiastadion'' until 2005, when both clubs moved to the purpose built
Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Munich Football Arena for UEFA competitions) is a Association football, football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely kno ...
.
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...
won the
1997 UEFA Champions League Final The 1997 UEFA Champions League final was a football match played at the Olympiastadion in Munich on 28 May 1997 to determine the winner of the 1996–97 UEFA Champions League. The match was contested by Borussia Dortmund of Germany and defending ...
at the Olympiastadion. On 6 to 11 August 2002 the 18th European Athletics Championships were held at the Olympiastadion. Since 2005, it is the host of the yearly air and style snowboard event. On 31 December 2006, the stadium made history as being the first venue to host the Tour de Ski
cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...
competition. The individual sprint events, held at 1100 m, were won by
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
's Marit Bjørgen (women) and
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
's Christoph Eigenmann (men). The snow was made in the stadium by combining the hot air with the cold refrigerated water that causes the snow to act like the icy type one would see in the Alps. It was not used in the
2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...
due to the Allianz Arena being the host stadium in Munich. On 23 to 24 June 2007, the stadium was host to the Spar European Cup 2007, a yearly athletics event featuring the top 8 countries from around Europe. The DTM touring car series held its first stadium event there in
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
: a
Race of Champions The Race of Champions (ROC) is an international motorsport event held at the start or end of each year, featuring some of the world's best racing and rally drivers from Formula One, World Rally Championship, IndyCar, NASCAR, sports car racin ...
-style event which took part over a two-day period, although it was not a championship scoring round. Edoardo Mortara won the first day, and Bruno Spengler the second. The event was repeated in 2012, but the stadium withdrew in 2013 because it proved impossible to turn it into a points-scoring event. On 17 May 2012, the ground played host to the 2012 UEFA Women's Champions League Final in which
Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...
won their second consecutive trophy. The attendance of that game was a record for a
UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. ...
Final. On 19 May 2012 it hosted the "Public Viewing" of the
2012 UEFA Champions League Final The 2012 UEFA Champions League final was an association football match which took place on Saturday, 19 May 2012 between Bayern Munich of Germany and Chelsea of England at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. The match was to decide the winner ...
which took place at
Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Munich Football Arena for UEFA competitions) is a Association football, football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely kno ...
in Munich. In August 2020, it was announced that Türkgücü München who have been promoted into third division will be playing a couple of their home matches on the ground. On 10 October 2020, after more than eight years, Olympiastadion was due to host a professional football match of Türkgücü München against
SV Wehen Wiesbaden SV Wehen Wiesbaden is a German association football club based in Wiesbaden, Hesse. The club was previously known as ''SV Wehen'' but added ''Wiesbaden'' to its name during the summer of 2007. They left their previous ground, the Taunusstein, t ...
. The
2022 European Athletics Championships The 2022 European Athletics Championships were the 25th edition of the European Athletics Championships and were held in Munich, Germany, from 15 to 21 August 2022. They were part of the 2022 European Championships, European Championships, a multi ...
took place at the stadium.


Association football


1974 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues for the
1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, 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 ...
. The following games were played at the stadium during the World Cup of 1974:


UEFA Euro 1988

The stadium was one of the venues for the
UEFA Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. France national football team, Fr ...
. The following games were played at the stadium during the Euro 1988:


Germany and West Germany national football team

The stadium hosted German national football teams for a total of 14 games. *26 May 1972
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
4–1 (Friendly, stadium opener) *14 February 1973 West Germany -
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
2-3 (Friendly) *9 May 1973 West Germany –
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
0–1 (Friendly) *7 July 1974 West Germany –
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
2–1 ( 1974 World Cup Final) *22 May 1976 West Germany –
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
2–0 ( Euro 1976 Qualifier) *22 February 1978 West Germany –
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
2–1 (Friendly) *2 April 1980 West Germany –
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
1–0 (Friendly) *22 September 1982 West Germany –
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
0–0 (Friendly) *17 November 1985 West Germany –
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
2–2 ( 1986 World Cup qualifier) *17 June 1988 West Germany – Spain 2–0 ( Euro 1988 Group match) *19 October 1988 West Germany – Netherlands 0–0 ( 1990 World Cup qualifier) *26 March 1996
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
2–0 (Friendly) *9 October 1999 Germany –
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
0–0 ( Euro 2000 qualifier) *1 September 2001 Germany – England 1–5 ( 2002 World Cup qualifier)


UEFA Club Competition Finals


Concerts


Other uses

The stadium was the setting of a skit for
Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal humour, surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam, w ...
in 1972, for The Philosophers' Football Match, in which Greek Philosophers played German Philosophers (plus
Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (; 11 September 1945 – 7 January 2024) was a German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed ("the Emperor"), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and is one of nine p ...
) and the Greeks winning the game with a last-minute goal from Socrates. However, the skit was filmed instead at the Grünwalder Stadion. Parts of the 1975 film '' Rollerball'' were shot on the (then) futuristic site surrounding the stadium. The Olympic Stadium also hosted
Motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
when it held the 1989 World Final on 2 September 1989.
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
's Hans Nielsen won his third
World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
with a 15-point maximum from his five rides. Simon Wigg of England finished in second place after defeating countryman Jeremy Doncaster in a run-off to decide the final podium places after both had finished with 12 points from their five rides. Three time champion
Erik Gundersen Erik Gundersen (born 8 October 1959 in Esbjerg, Denmark) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Gundersen is one of the most successful speedway riders of all time, having won the Speedway World Champi ...
of Denmark finished in fourth place with 11 points. Gundersen, the defending World Champion, missed finishing outright second when his bike's engine expired while he was leading Heat 9 of the World Final. American rock band
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
filmed parts of their '' Estranged'' video there when they visited Munich in June 1993. In 2021, the stadium was visited during the fourth episode of the ninth season of Belgian reality series '' De Mol'' for a football-themed assignment. The stadium is also used for
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
.


See also

* Tensile and membrane structures


References


External links


Official siteOlympic Stadium review by a+t architecture publishers
{{Authority control Athletics (track and field) venues in Germany FC Bayern Munich TSV 1860 Munich Sports venues in Munich Football venues in Munich
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
Tensile membrane structures High-tech architecture Tourist attractions in Munich Rugby union stadiums in Germany American football venues in Germany Venues of the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic athletics venues Olympic equestrian venues Olympic modern pentathlon venues UEFA European Championship final stadiums Sports venues completed in 1972 1972 establishments in West Germany