The Munich Olympiastadion
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Location | Munich, Germany |
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Coordinates | 48°10′23″N 11°32′48″E / 48.17306°N 11.54667°ECoordinates: 48°10′23″N 11°32′48″E / 48.17306°N 11.54667°E |
Owner | German State Government |
Operator | Olympiapark Munich GmbH |
Capacity | 69,250 |
Surface | Asphalt concrete and artificial grass |
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Broke ground | 1968 |
Opened | 26 May 1972 |
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The Olympiastadion München (German pronunciation: [ʔoˈlʏmpi̯aːˌʃtaːdi̯ɔn]; English: Olympic Stadium Munich) is a stadium located in Munich, 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.
With an original capacity of 80,000, the stadium also hosted many major football matches including the 1974 World Cup Final and the Euro '88 Final. It hosted the European Cup Finals of 1979, 1993 and 1997. Its current capacity is 69,250.
Until the construction of the Allianz Arena for the 2006 World Cup, the stadium was home to Bayern Munich and TSV 1860 Munich.
Designed by the German architect Günther Behnisch and the engineer Frei Otto, with the assistance of John Argyris, the lightweight tent construction of the Olympiastadion was considered revolutionary for its time. This included large sweeping canopies of acrylic glass stabilized by steel cables that were used for the first time on a large scale. The idea was to imitate the Alps and to set a counterpart to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, held during the Nazi regime. The sweeping and transparent canopy was to symbolize the new, democratic and optimistic Germany. This is reflected in the official motto: "The cheerful Games" ("Die Heiteren Spiele").