economie

THEN AND NOW: What 10 former Olympic stadiums look like today

August 1, 20240
A general view of the Bird’s Nest stadium, the venue for opening and closing ceremonies for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

  • The 2024 Olympics are underway in Paris.
  • Some Olympic venues are abandoned after the games, but the main stadiums often get a second life.
  • Here’s what 10 Olympic stadiums looked like in their heyday and what they’re used for now.

The 2024 Olympic opening ceremony was different compared to years past. At the Paris Olympics, viewers watched as athletes sailed down the Seine in a fleet of boats, while the streets were filled with performers.

Normally, though, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics are held in a huge stadium. Many, in fact, are built specifically for this purpose.

But what happens to them after the games? Some are renovated and turned into sporting arenas. Others are left somewhat abandoned, as the city doesn’t have the need for the thousands of seats. Or they’re destroyed entirely — in Lake Placid, New York, the stadium used for the opening ceremony was demolished soon after the 1980 Games.

Here’s what Olympic stadiums looked like at their peak, and how they’ve changed since the torch was extinguished.

Berlin hosted the Summer Olympics in 1936, mainly from the Olympiastadion Berlin, or Olympic Stadium.
The German soccer team Hertha BSC uses the Olympiastadion as its home stadium.

Simon Hofmann/Bongarts/Getty Images

After Germany was reunified in 1990, it wasn’t clear what Berliners would do with the stadium. Eventually, it was renovated and reopened in 2004, according to Britannica. It’s now the biggest stadium in Germany, has hosted the 2006 FIFA Men’s World Cup and the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and has been the home stadium for Hertha BSC since 1963.

Most recently, the 2024 UEFA Euro final was held at the Olympiastadion.

However, some of the other venues from the Berlin Olympics are abandoned, including the swim hall and Olympic Village.

In 2008, the Summer Olympics were held in Beijing. The festivities opened and closed at the Beijing National Stadium.
The Beijing National Stadium in 2020.

Artyom IvanovTASS via Getty Images

The National Stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies again in 2022 after a 14-year hiatus, according to the Olympics.

In the time since the 2008 Olympics, though, the National Stadium has hosted a handful of sporting events, such as car racing, and concerts, but not many. But the venue costs $10 million a year to maintain, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) reported, so the city charges admission for tours.

When Tokyo first hosted the Olympics in 1964, the National Stadium was used as the site of the opening and closing ceremonies.
It was the main venue for the Tokyo Olympics.

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

It cost over $1 billion to construct the new stadium, CNN reported. After the games, it’s now used by the national soccer and rugby teams.

Montreal’s biggest Olympic venue, the Stade Olympique, opened for the 1976 Summer Games.
Montreal’s Olympic Stadium has been going through tough times.

DeAgostini/Getty Images

The Expos moved to Washington, DC, and became the Washington Nationals in 2005.

In February 2024, Quebec’s government announced it would spend $870 million to redo the decaying roof, CFR reported. Without it, the stadium would have to close within two years.

The opening ceremony of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, was held at the temporary Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium.
The stadium is gone, but the equestrian fields remain.

Google Maps

You can learn more about visiting here.

The closing ceremonies of the 1984 Games in Sarajevo were held inside the Zetra Olympic Hall.
The graveyard next to the Olympic stadium.

ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP via Getty Images

After Yugoslavia broke up, Sarajevo became the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was subsequently bombed and under siege for almost four years, destroying the original Zetra Ice Hall.

The Juan Antonio Samaranch Olympic Hall was rebuilt in 1999 with the help of a donation from the International Olympic Committee.

Other sites used in the games have since been left to the elements.

The centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta was Centennial Olympic Stadium.
Georgia State plays there now.

Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

After the Braves departed, Georgia State University acquired the stadium and redesigned it for their football team, the Panthers, who have called Center Parc home since 2017.

The Olympic Stadium of Athens, used for the 2004 Summer Games, is nicknamed “Spyros Louis” after the famed Greek Olympian.
It was closed from October 2023 to May 2024 to fix the roof.

ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images

While some other Olympic venues have seemingly remained untouched since the 2004 Games, the site of the opening and closing ceremonies is quite busy.

However, in October 2023, there were concerns that the roof had become unsafe, Reuters reported, and the stadium was closed until May 2024. Just a few weeks later, Coldplay played two shows in the newly restored stadium.

Fisht Olympic Stadium was the site of the opening and closing ceremonies of Sochi 2014 in Russia.
The Fisht Stadium is now an enclosed stadium.

Dmitry FeoktistovTASS via Getty Images

This renovation was in preparation of Russia hosting the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and then the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The capacity of the venue can now be changed from 45,000 to 25,000 depending on its use, according to its engineering consultants Buro Happold.

Additionally, Russian soccer team PFC Sochi plays at Fisht.

The 2016 Summer Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro. Both the opening and closing ceremonies were held in Maracanã Stadium.
Maracanã Stadium continues to be used to this day.

Buda Mendes/Getty Images

The stadium held the finals for the 2021 Copa América — an international competition between men’s soccer teams in South America — in July 2021. The Copa América finals were also played in Maracanã in 2019.

Read the original article on Business Insider

https://www.businessinsider.com/what-olympic-stadiums-look-like-now-2021-7