About Olympiastadion Berlin
The Olympiastadion is a sports stadium at Olympiapark Berlin in Berlin, Germany. It was originally built by Werner March for the 1936 Summer Olympics. During the Olympics, the record attendance was thought to be over 100,000. Today the stadium is part of the Olympiapark Berlin. It is the home ground of the football club Hertha BSC.
The stadium was renovated for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and has a permanent capacity of 74,475. It hosted the 2006 World Cup final between Italy and France. The distinct gap in the stadium ring at the Marathon Gate provides a view of the Bell Tower (Glockenturm).
Its monumental architecture, featuring natural stone cladding, is preserved as a historical landmark. The floating roof, added during the renovation, covers all seating areas while leaving the playing field open. The blue running track, matching Hertha BSC's colors, makes it one of the few elite stadiums to retain track and field facilities.
The venue was designed by Werner March in consultation with his brother Walter March, and constructed between 1934 and 1936 by main contractor Philipp Holzmann AG at a delivered cost of 42 million Reichsmarks of the day (equivalent to roughly 260 million euros in 2024 purchasing power). Ownership rests with the Federal Land of Berlin via the operating company Olympiastadion Berlin GmbH, a wholly owned entity of the Senate for Sport since 1998. The 132-hectare Olympiapark parcel in the Westend district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf was carved from the former Deutsches Stadion racecourse built in 1913 for the abandoned 1916 Olympics that were cancelled due to the First World War, and the modernist Marathon Gate marks the exact position of the 1913 competitors' entrance preserved during subsequent redevelopment.