Helsinki Olympic Stadium

Helsinki Olympic Stadium

Stadion
Location	Helsinki, Finland
Broke ground	1934
Opened	1938
Renovated	2005
Owner	Stadion-säätiö
Surface	Grass
Capacity	40,000
Tenants
Finland national football team 1952 Summer Olympics 1983 World Championships in Athletics 2005 World Championships in Athletics

The Helsinki Olympic Stadium, (in Finnish and Swedish: Olympiastadion) located in the Töölö district about 2 km from the center of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country, nowadays mainly used for hosting sports events and big concerts. The stadium is best known for being the center of activities in the 1952 Summer Olympics. It was built however to host the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were moved from Tokyo to Helsinki before being cancelled due to World War II. The stadium was also the venue for the first World Athletics Championships in 1983 as well as for the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. It is also the home stadium of the Finland national football team.

Construction of the Olympic Stadium began in 1934 and it was completed in 1938. The stadium was completely modernized in 1990–1994 and also renovated just before the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. Its spectator capacity was at its maximum during the 1952 Summer Olympics with over 70,000 spectator places. Nowadays the stadium has 40,000 spectator places. During concerts, the capacity is 45,000.

The tower of the stadium, a distinct landmark with a height of 72 m, is open for visitors and offers impressive views over Helsinki.

Concerts

• The Rolling Stones 2 September 1970
• Dire Straits 4 August 1992
• The Rolling Stones 6 June 1995
• Bon Jovi 19 July 1996
• Tina Turner 7 August 1996
• U2 9 August 1997
• Michael Jackson 24 and 26 August 1997
• Elton John 25 June 1998
• The Rolling Stones 5 August 1998
• Mestarit 5 August 1999
• AC/DC 26 June 2001
• Bruce Springsteen 16 and 17 June 2003
• The Rolling Stones 16 July 2003
• Metallica 28 May 2004
• Paul McCartney 17 June 2004
• Genesis 11 June 2007
• Metallica 15 July 2007
• The Rolling Stones 1 August 2007
• Bon Jovi June 16 2008
• Bruce Springsteen July 11 2008
• Iron Maiden July 18 2008

Notes

The Olympic Stadium was, along with the runner Paavo Nurmi, Erik Bruun's illustration motif for the former Finnish 10 markka banknote.

An American TV series, The Amazing Race 10, had one of its episodes ending at The Olympic Stadium Tower in 2006. As a task, teams had to do a face-first rappel (known as the Angel Dive) down the Helsinki Olympic Tower.

Since March 2007, an Eurasian Eagle-Owl has been spotted living in and around the stadium. On June 6, 2007, during a Euro 2008 qualifying match, the owl delayed play by ten minutes after perching on a goalpost. The owl was later christened Bubi and was named as Helsinki's Resident of the Year.

A Youth Hostel is located within the Stadium complex.

The 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Olympic Games hosted in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium was the main motif for a one of the first Finnish euro silver commemorative coins, the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Olympic Games commemorative coin, minted in 2002. On the reverse, a view of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium can be seen. On the right, the 500 markka commemorative coin minted in 1952 celebrating the occasion is depicted.

External links

• Stadion.fi – Official site
• History of the stadium
• Panoramic virtual tour from the stadium tower

Preceded by Empire Stadium London	Summer Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies (Olympic Stadium) 1952	Succeeded by Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne
Preceded by Empire Stadium London	Olympic Athletics competitions Main Venue 1952	Succeeded by Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne
Preceded by Empire Stadium London	Olympic Football tournament Final Venue 1952	Succeeded by Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne
Preceded by None	IAAF World Championships in Athletics Venue 1983	Succeeded by Stadio Olimpico Rome
Preceded by Stade de France Paris	IAAF World Championships in Athletics Venue 2005	Succeeded by Nagai Stadium Osaka

v • d • e Summer Olympic stadia Athens 1896 • Paris 1900 • St Louis 1904 • London 1908 • Stockholm 1912 • Antwerp 1920 • Paris 1924 • Amsterdam 1928 • Los Angeles 1932 • Berlin 1936 • London 1948 • Helsinki 1952 • Melbourne 1956 • Rome 1960 • Tokyo 1964 • México City 1968 • Munich 1972 • Montréal 1976 • Moscow 1980 • Los Angeles 1984 • Seoul 1988 • Barcelona 1992 • Atlanta 1996 • Sydney 2000 • Athens 2004 • Beijing 2008 • London 2012

Coordinates: 60°11′13.14″N 24°55′37.47″E / 60.1869833, 24.927075

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