RESPECTING THE OLIMPIJSKI

Ahead of the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine later this year, the final stages of a lavish renovation to the Kiev Olympic stadium is being completed.

The Olimpijski, or ‘Red’, Stadium was built on the grounds of Alekseevsky Park in Kiev in 1923 for the second All-Ukrainian Olympic Games. Over the decades, it has been rebuilt and renamed on several occasions, but the comprehensive makeover for Euro 2012 is a real highlight in the venue’s history.

With their renovation plan for the stadium, gmp Architects paid respect to the historic nature of the construction which holds 68,000 spectators.  One innovative feature of the revamped arena is the roof, which features 640 light domes.  These lend the construction a discrete, self-assured radiance and provide you average spectator terraces suffused with daylight. Suffused with daylight, imagine that…..

The Olimpijski will continue to be used for big games by Dynamo Kyiv in preference to the much smaller Lobanovskyi, Dynamo’s home ground.  Three qualifying games, a quarter final and the final of Euro 2012 will be played at the Olimpijski this summer.

Pictures courtesy nsc-olymp.com