Helsinki Olympic Stadium

Helsinki Olympic Stadium
The renovated Olympic Stadium in April 2020 is nearing completion
Data
place	Paavo Nurmen tie 1 Töölö , Helsinki , Finland
Coordinates	60 ° 11 '13.2 "  N , 24 ° 55' 38"  E Coordinates: 60 ° 11 '13.2 "  N , 24 ° 55' 38"  E
owner	Stadium-säätiö
start of building	February 12, 1934
opening	June 12, 1938 August 22, 2020 (planned)
Renovations	1939, 1947–1952, 1953–1956, 1961, 1971, 1991–1994, 1997–1998, 2004–2005, 2011, 2016–2020
surface	Natural grass
costs	260 million euros (2016-2020)
architect	Yrjö Lindegren Toivo Jäntti
capacity	36,200 places (since 2020) 39,784 places (until 2015)
Events
Finnish national football team matches 1952 Summer Olympics 1957 World Bandy Championship European Athletics Championships 1971 World Athletics Championships 1983 European Athletics Championships 1994 World Athletics Championships 2005 European Women's Football Championship 2009 European Athletics Championships 2012 Game for the UEFA Super Cup 2022 Concerts

The Helsinki Olympiastadion ( Finnish Helsingin olympiastadion , Swedish Helsingfors Olympiastadion ) is the largest stadium in Finland . The soccer stadium with athletics facility is the home ground of the Finnish national soccer team . It is located around two kilometers from Helsinki city ​​center in the Töölö district . In 2006 it was placed under a preservation order. The national stadium has been extensively renovated since 2016 and is scheduled to reopen in 2020.

architecture

South side and tower of the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki (2015)

The functionalist building was designed by architects Yrjö Lindegren and Toivo Jäntti . The stadium's landmark is the 72.71 meter high tower, the height of which corresponds exactly to the victory distance of the Finnish javelin throwing Olympic champion from 1932 , Matti Järvinen . Outside of events, the tower is open to visitors as a viewing tower.

history

Plaque on the statue of Paavo Nurmi in front of the Olympic Stadium

The Olympic Stadium was built from 1934 to 1938 - with the aim of hosting the 1940 Summer Olympics , which was canceled because of the Second World War . From 1994 to 1999 the stadium was rebuilt, the number of spectator seats was reduced from 70,000 to 40,000. By the end of 2015, it had 39,784 seats. Before the introduction of the euro , the stadium was depicted on the Finnish 10- mark banknote together with the long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi . In front of the stadium is a statue of the nine-time Finnish Olympic champion Nurmi with a plaque. The Töölön Pallokenttä football stadium, inaugurated in 1915, is located in the immediate vicinity of the Olympic Stadium . In 2000 the site was supplemented by another football stadium, the Telia 5G -areena with around 10,000 seats.

At the beginning of the 2010s, planning began for a comprehensive stadium renovation. At the end of 2014, the City of Helsinki provided more detailed information on the renovation plans. The historic design from the 1930s is to be retained. In this way, the external image remains almost untouched and the visible changes affect the interior of the stadium. The tiers get new seating. This will reduce the number of places to around 35,000 to 36,000. In addition, the grandstands of the Olympic Stadium are to be roofed over. As with the existing roof of the main stand and the opposite stand, the new roof is supported by supporting pillars on the stands. The stadium will also have a new visitor center and the number of entrances will be increased. Overall, the premises of the sports facility are being extensively renovated. Construction work is scheduled to begin in spring 2016 and the facility is to be reopened in spring 2019. The Olympic Stadium will remain closed during the renovation. The cost of the renovations according to the plans of the Arkkitehtitoimisto K2S is estimated at 209 million euros .

The Olympic Stadium has been closed to the public since December 23, 2015 in view of the renovation. Before that, those interested could secure souvenirs from the wooden benches. Around 10,000 souvenir collectors came within a week and were able to dismantle their personal memory of the old Olympic Stadium for a payment of 18 euros. It was the symbolic prelude to the construction work.

In January 2017 it became known that the planned renovation of the traditional stadium would be more expensive than expected. The sum of 209 million was corrected upwards to 261 million euros. A general contractor is to be selected for the renovation in January of the year .

In May 2019, construction work was well advanced and the topping-out ceremony was celebrated. The roof covers all spectator stands and the new spruce facade is under construction.

On March 2, 2020, UEFA awarded the game for the 2022 UEFA Super Cup to the Finnish capital with the converted Olympic Stadium.

At the end of June 2020, the handover of the Olympic Stadium had to be postponed by at least a month. The city did not accept the renovations as several errors were found. The facility is slated to reopen with a virtual celebration on August 22nd of that year. The first home game of the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League against Wales is scheduled for September 3 . After August 22nd, the stadium will gradually open to visitors. The Olympic Tower is scheduled to open again to visitors from August 31st. Due to public safety guidelines, tickets must be booked. During Helsinki Design Week , with the stadium as the main venue, you can visit the interior of the Olympic Stadium between September 11th and 13th, 2020. From September 14th to 19th, everyone can get an impression of the modernized facilities when the stadium opens for training. The renovation cost 260 million euros. About 50 million more than initially planned. It was not allowed to falsify the original, listed stadium design, this increased the construction costs.

Events

The facility was the main stadium for the 1952 Summer Olympics . After the sports facility had already hosted the 1983 World Athletics Championships, the 2005 World Athletics Championships were also held here. In advance, the roof was extended, which now spans the straight and a small part of the curve. The stadium was one of the five venues for the 2009 European Women's Football Championship . In 2012, the stadium was the third time after 1971 and 1994 the scene of European Athletics Championships . The first Bandy World Championship in 1957 was also held in the sports facility.

The Olympic Stadium is also used as a concert arena; so were z. B. Michael Jackson , U2 , Tina Turner , The Rolling Stones , AC / DC , Dire Straits , Paul McCartney , Genesis , Metallica , Bon Jovi , Iron Maiden , Bruce Springsteen and others. a. a guest in the capital's stadium.

Web links

Commons : Helsinki Olympic Stadium  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• stadion.fi: website of the Olympic Stadium (English)
• stadiumdb.com: Helsinki Olympic Stadium (English)
• stadionwelt.de: picture gallery
• skyscrapercity.com: site for stadium remodeling (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Helsinki Olympic Stadium. In: Helsinki Olympic Stadium. Retrieved August 1, 2019 . 
2. ^ Olympic Stadium on the website of FC Suomi. In: fcsuomi.com. FC Suomi, accessed August 1, 2019 (Finnish). 
3. ↑ picture of the statue. In: stadionwelt.de. Retrieved August 1, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Olympiastadion perusteelliseen remonttiin - tältä se Näyttää nyt ja vuonna 2019. In: hs.fi. Helsingin Sanomat , December 5, 2014, accessed August 1, 2019 (Finnish). 
5. ↑ Concrete plans for the renovation of the Olympic Stadium. In: stadionwelt.de. December 8, 2014, accessed August 1, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Pictures of the planned stadium design. In: stadiumdb.com. Retrieved August 1, 2019 . 
7. ↑ Helsinki: Last days of the old Olympic Stadium. In: stadiumdb.com. December 20, 2015, accessed August 1, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Helsinki: Fans dismantled legendary Olympic Stadium benches. In: stadiumdb.com. November 12, 2015, accessed August 1, 2019 . 
9. ↑ Renovation of the Olympic Stadium more expensive than expected ( Memento from January 10, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
10. ^ Helsinki: More costly Olympic renovation. In: stadiumdb.com. January 9, 2017, accessed August 1, 2019 . 
11. ↑ Olympic Stadium in harjannostajaiset. In: stadion.fi. May 21, 2019, accessed August 1, 2019 (Finnish). 
12. ↑ Eric Lipchis: Helsinki will host the 2022 UEFA Super Cup. In: foreigner.fi. March 4, 2020, accessed on May 22, 2020 . 
13. ↑ Completion of the Olympic Stadium is postponed again: Helsinki did not accept the construction site - “One fault or 20 faults may be found”. In: tellerreport.com. June 30, 2020, accessed on July 25, 2020 . 
14. ↑ Helsinki: Stadium reopening, the Finnish way. In: stadiumdb.com. August 18, 2020, accessed on August 19, 2020 . 
15. ↑ Concert list of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. In: setlist.fm. Retrieved August 1, 2019 .