Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000 and is used for the French rugby union team during the Six Nations and other major internationals. The French football team also use the stadium for almost every home game, and it was there where they defeated Brazil 3-0 in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final. Paris’s main rugby club, Stade Français, periodically use the stadium as a home ground for some major matches.
Stade de France is the venue for three major domestic cup finals each year: the Top 14, France’s domestic rugby union championship; and football’s Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue. The UEFA Champions League Finals of 2000 and 2006 were awarded to the stadium. It held the annual cross-motorsport event Race of Champions in 2004, 2005 and 2006 before the event moved to Wembley Stadium in London. In 2007, it was the principal stadium used in the Rugby World Cup, making it the only stadium in the world to have hosted both a Football World Cup Final and a Rugby World Cup Final. The stadium can be reconfigured to house a running track for track and field events, as was the case when it played host to the 2003 World Championships in Athletics.
Stade de France History
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. It hosted one of France’s greatest sporting triumphs to date—the 3-0 victory over Brazil in the World Cup final on July 12, 1998. This was the first time that France had won the World Cup, as well as the first time in twenty years that a host nation had captured the title. Previously played at Parc des Princes, the Top 16 (French rugby championship, now the Top 14) final was moved permanently to Stade de France that year. Parisian team Stade Français defeated USA Perpignan 34-7 in May of that year. The following year it hosted one match of the Welsh hosted 1999 Rugby World Cup, a quarter-final, where the Springboks defeated England 44-21.
Concerts
Since its opening in 1998, the Stade de France has become a popular touring venue for high-profile recording artists. These include:
- The Rolling Stones – July 25, 1998
- Johnny Hallyday – September, 5,6 and 11, 1998
- Celine Dion – June 19 and 20, 1999
- Tina Turner – July 5, 2000
- AC/DC – June 22, 2001
- Bruce Springsteen – May 24, 2003
- Paul McCartney – June 24, 2004
- U2 – July 9 and 10, 2005
- The Rolling Stones – July 28, 2006
- The Rolling Stones – June 16, 2007
- George Michael – June 22, 2007
- The Police – September 29 and 30, 2007
- André Rieu – August 29, 2008
- Madonna – September 20 and 21, 2008
- Mister Pape – May 28 and June 01, 2009
- Johnny Hallyday – May, 29,30 and 31, 2009
- AC/DC – June 12, 2009
- Depeche Mode – June 27, 2009
- U2 – July 11 and 12, 2009
- Mylène Farmer – September 11 and 12, 2009
- Mister Pape – November 12 and 13, 2009
- Indochine – June 26, 2010
