Stade De France is the national stadium of France in Paris, with a seating capacity of 80,698. It was commissioned in order for France to host the FIFA World Cup in 1998 and has since hosted countless musicians and sport events.
Activities
Stade De France is the national stadium of France in Paris, with a seating capacity of 80,698. It is used by the French national football team and rugby union team for home games, and can also be set up for track and field events with a lower seating capacity.
History
The Consortium Stade De France – a joint venture between Vinci, a French concessions and construction company and Bouygees, a French industrial group – is the manager of the Stade de France, the national stadium of France, located in Paris.
In the early 1990s, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) chose France for the location of the FIFA World Cup, 1998. At this time, no stadium in France could host an event for over 45,000 people, so the government agreed to build a stadium providing 80,000 seats.
After 31 months of construction, Stade de France was inaugurated in January 1998 with a friendly game between France and Spain. Six months later, the stadium hosted group, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final match of 1998 FIFA World Cup, with France defeating Brazil to earn their first World Cup title.
Since this initial opening, Stade De France has hosted the largest number of prestigious sporting events in the world, including the 2003 World Athletics Championship, 2007 Rugby World Cup, three Champions League finals in 2000, 2006 and 2022, 2010 Heineken Cup final and the UEFA Euro 2016. Along with sports, the stadium has hosted impressive musical acts such as the The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Madonna, the Black Eyed Peas, Johnny Halliday, U2, Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many more. In total, the stadium has hosted over 35 million spectators since 1998, and it already has games for 2023 Rugby World Cup and some events of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games scheduled.
The stadium has had it’s fair share of controversy during this time, most recently in the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, which was delayed because of difficulties admitting fans – French police used tear gas and pepper spray to try to break up crowds who were not being admitted due to fears of fake tickets, an event that drew strong criticism and ultimately led UEFA to commission an independent report into the event.
Description
Stade De France is the national stadium of France in Paris, with a seating capacity of 80,698. It is used by the French national football team and rugby union team for home games as well as for track and field events, music events, and, in the future, e-sport events. The facility is owned and operated by the Consortium Stade De France, a joint venture between Vinci and Bouygues.
