Olympiastadion
Information:
The Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) is a sports stadium in Berlin. There have been two stadia on the site: the present facility, and one that was built for the aborted 1916 Summer Olympics. Both were designed by members of the same family, the first by Otto March and the second by his son Werner March.
The current Olympiastadion was originally built for the 1936 Summer Olympics in the southern part of the Reichssportfeld (today Olympiapark Berlin). During World War II, the area suffered little damage. After the war, the United Kingdom military occupation used the northern part of the Reichssportfeld as its headquarters until 1994.
Aside from its use as an Olympic stadium, the Olympiastadion has a strong footballing tradition. Historically, it is the ground of club Hertha BSC Berlin. It was also used for 3 matches in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. It hosted six matches, including the final, in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was renovated for that reason. The German Cup final match is held each year at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
Olympiastadion Renovation
The inauguration celebrations of the new Olympic Stadium were carried out on July 31, 2004 and August 1, 2004. On that day, Saturday, the party began with performances from Pink, Nena (99 Red Balloons) and Daniel Barenboim. It culminated at night with the opening ceremony.
On day two, friendly matches were played between different categories of the club Hertha BSC and visiting teams. On September 8, 2004, Brazil played Germany.
The new Olympic Stadium seated 76,000, second most in Germany behind Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park (formerly Westfalenstadion).
The roof rises 68 metres over the seats and is made up of transparent panels that allow sunlight to stream in during the day. The western portion (on the Marathon Arch) is open to reveal the “Glockenturm” to the spectators.
The Olympiastadion was equipped with the latest technology in artificial illumination and sound equipment. It has 113 VIP stands, a set of restaurants, and two underground garages (for 630 cars).
The total cost of the remodeling and amplification was €242 million.
