Ukraine reopens Olympic Stadium
10 October 2011
On Saturday, in a gala ceremony headlined by Columbian singer Shakira and before a crowd of 50,000, Ukraine opened the renovated Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, which is due to host the final match of the UEFA European Football Championships in 2012. Seating capacity for the stadium is 68,000, which will make it Euro-2012’s largest venue. The total costs to rebuild the stadium could exceed USD 600 mln, according to Kyiv Post reports. Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium was shuttered in December 2008 for massive repairs that included demolition and rebuilding the lower tier, construction of a 13-story building adjacent to the arena, and addition of a new roof covering the entire seating area. Work on renovating Ukraine’s Kyiv and Lviv stadiums had been plagued by scandals and a slow start, at one point prompting warnings from UEFA that it could move matches elsewhere. Ukraine’s host stadiums in Kharkiv (renovated) and Donetsk (new) both opened in 2009; the Lviv stadium is due to open on October 28.
