The Palace of Sports (, ) is an
indoor sport-concert complex situated in the center of
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. The complex is an independent state enterprise.
History
It was built between 1958 and 1960, to design of
Mykhailo Hrechyna and Oleksiy Zavarov, as a major indoor
sports
Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...
arena and was opened on 9 December 1960.
Constructivist Architecture
Constructivist architecture was a constructivism (art), constructivist style of modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s. Abstract and austere, the movement aimed to reflect modern industrial society a ...
, an artistic movement sporting mostly simple geometric forms was used in the design.
In the first 50 years, the Sports Palace was the venue for 16 world championships, 28 European championships, 42 championships of the USSR and more than 4,000 concerts and theatre shows as stage performances. In addition, there were around 400 exhibitions and fairs. The events attracted more than 24 million visitors.
Renovations
In 1980–1982, the Palace of Sport was reconstructed (by the Kyivproject Institute and the Kyiv Zonal Scientific Research Institute for Experimental Design). The lighting and technical facilities were almost completely modernized, the interiors and halls were expanded and otherwise illuminated, the palace was equipped with numerous changing rooms and sideboards.
The Palace of Sports was confirmed by officials as the host venue for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "Wild Dances" by Ruslana. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ( ...
in September 2004. However, in order to host the contest, the facilities had been brought up to the standard required by the
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...
(EBU). At the end of December 2004, work began on the renovation of the hall, for which approximately 4 million francs were allocated. Renovation works were to be finished by 20 April, however, they were completed at the beginning of May. The arena could accommodate over 5,000 seated spectators. Additionally 2,000 press delegates were catered for.
A further reconstruction took place from October 2010 in preparation to host matches for the
2011 IIHF World Championship Division I. As part of the reconstruction, the backstage space was completely re-equipped, six sports locker rooms were installed, the hall lighting was modernized, and the ventilation, air-conditioning, heating and fire safety systems were completely replaced. In addition, a modern quadrilateral display appeared above the arena. In the stands, plastic seats were installed in the colors of the national flag: the total number of seats is 6,900 for sporting events, increased to 9,800 when in concert-mode.
Events
The venue hosts indoor sports games, concerts, major exhibitions and trade fairs.
Sport

The hall hosts ice hockey, basketball and boxing competitions. The home teams have included the ice hockey club
Sokil Kyiv and the basketball clubs
BC Kyiv and
BC Budivelnyk.
Major sporting events to be held at the arena include the
2012 Professional Hockey League All-Star Game,
2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship and
2013 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships
The 2013 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Kyiv, Ukraine, from August 28 to September 1, 2013 at the Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Palace of Sports.
Yana Kudryavtseva of the Russia, Russian Federation became the youngest individual ...
.
Eurovision
It hosted the
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "Wild Dances" by Ruslana. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ( ...
, which required the facilities to be brought up to the standard stipulated by the
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...
. Four years later, the
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was hosted in the venue. It is one of the two venues to have hosted both the junior and adult versions of the song contest (The other being
Rotterdam Ahoy
Rotterdam Ahoy (formerly known as Ahoy Rotterdam or simply as Ahoy) is a multi-purpose complex with a convention centre and an indoor arena located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Opened originally in 1950, the current complex consists of three main ...
which hosted the
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007 and the
Eurovision Song Contest 2021
The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's win at the with the song "Arcade (song), Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands was se ...
).
Concerts
The Sports Palace is also a popular venue for concerts, having been the venue for
Didier Marouani
Didier "Ecama" Marouani (born 14 July 1953) is a French composer and musician born in Monaco.
Biography
Didier started his career as a pop singer and made his first single, "Je suis ton chevalier" (''I am your knight'') with Etienne Roda-Gil ...
and
Space
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on 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 of July 1983,
Ace of Base
Ace of Base is a Swedish pop group formed in 1987, originally consisting of siblings Jonas, Linn, and Jenny Berggren, with Ulf Ekberg.
They achieved worldwide success following the release of their debut album, '' Happy Nation'', in 1992. L ...
,
Backstreet Boys
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,
Black Eyed Peas
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Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
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Deep Purple
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Judas Priest
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,
A-ha
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Jamiroquai
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Jean Michel Jarre
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Moby
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Thirty Seconds to Mars
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Muse
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,
Placebo
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Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...
,
Limp Bizkit
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The Rasmus
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Christina Aguilera
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Anastacia
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,
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...
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Chris Rea
Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is a British Rock music, rock and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist from Middlesbrough. Known for his distinctive voice and his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty-five studio albums, ...
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Lara Fabian
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Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...
,
Sting,
Marilyn Manson
Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...
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The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured
Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...
and others.
Business
The Sports Palace hosts annual
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...
events, such as: Megatraining, Dream Big Forum, Big Money Forum, Business Concentrate, and Online Business Laboratory.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Sports venues completed in 1960
Indoor arenas in Ukraine
Ice hockey venues in Ukraine
Sports venues in Kyiv
Pecherskyi District
1960 establishments in Ukraine
Concert halls in Ukraine