The Olympic Stadium of Athens "Spyros Louis" (Greek: ????????? ?????? ?????? "?????? ?????", Olympiakó Stádio "Spyros Louis") is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It is named after the first modern Olympic marathon race winner in 1896, Spyros Louis. The stadium hosts one of the biggest sport clubs in Greece, AEK Athens.
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History
Located in the area of Marousi in Athens, the stadium was originally designed in 1979 and built in 1980-1982. It was completed in time to host the 1982 European Championships in Athletics. It was inaugurated by the President of Greece, at the time Konstantinos Karamanlis, on 8 September 1982. It also hosted several events of the 1991 Mediterranean Games and the 1997 World Championships in Athletics, sought in order to prove that it was capable of hosting major sporting events after the failure of Athens to win the 1996 Summer Olympics.
It was extensively renovated in time for the 2004 Summer Olympics, including a roof designed by Santiago Calatrava, and innovatively positioned with Enerpac hydraulics. The roof was added atop the sidelines and completed just in time for the opening of the Games. The two giant arcs have a total span of 304m and a maximum height of 72m. Also, it has a total weight of 19,000 tons with 5,000 polycarbonate panels, covering an area of 25,000 sq m. The west arc was assembled 72m from its final position and the east 65m - both later slid into place. The roof is designed to withstand winds up to 120 km/h. The stadium was then officially re-opened on 30 July 2004. It hosted the athletics events and the football final at the 2004 Summer Olympics. It also hosted the opening ceremony on 13 August 2004, and the closing ceremony on 29 August 2004. The stadium's attendance was reduced to 71,030 for the Olympics, the initial capacity was some 75,000, though only 56,700 seats were made publicly available for the track and field events and slightly more for the football final. The turf system consists of natural grass in modular containers which incorporate irrigation and drainage systems.
- The Olympic Stadium has been used as home ground in various times by the three big football clubs of Athens, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens.
- Michael Jackson was booked to perform at the stadium on a 75,000 sold-out concert as part of his Dangerous World Tour on October 11, 1992, but due to the singer's health problems, the show had to be canceled.
- It hosted the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final on 23 May between AC Milan and Liverpool, which was won 2-1 by Milan, the 1994 Final between Milan and Barcelona, which was also won by Milan, the 1983 Final, as well as the 1987 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final.
- The stadium played host to Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! Benefit Concert on 3 October 1988. The show was headlined by Sting and Peter Gabriel and also featured Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tracy Chapman, Youssou N'Dour, and George Dalaras.
- Madonna performed before a sold-out crowd of 75,637 at the stadium on 27 September 2008, as part of her Sticky & Sweet Tour.
- U2 performed in front of a crowd of 82,662 during their 360° Tour on 3 September 2010, making it the highest attended concert ever held in Greece.
- Pyx Lax performed also in front of a crowd of about 80,000, during their reunion tour on 13 July 2011. It was the highest attended Greek-band-concert.
- Bon Jovi performed during their Bon Jovi Live Tour on 20 July 2011. The show was successful and almost sold out.
- Red Hot Chili Peppers performed in front of a crowd of about 60,000, as part of their worldwide concert tour on 4 September 2012.
- Lady Gaga performed a show for her world tour, ArtRave: The Artpop Ball, in front of 26,860 people.
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Concerts
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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