Stade de France
Stade de France is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the largest stadium in France. The architecture of the Stade de France is inspired by the Worldport of the American airline Pan American at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The stadium is used by the French national football and rugby union teams for international competitions. It is the largest in Europe for athletics events, seating 77,083 in that configuration. During other events, the stadium's running track is mostly hidden under the grandstands.
Initially built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2008 Summer Olympics failed bid the stadium's name was recommended by Michel Platini, head of the organizing committee. On 12 July 1998, France beat Brazil 3–0 in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final held at the stadium. The Stadium was a key player in the success of the city's bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games and also the Paralympics and in addition to hosting athletics and the closing ceremonies of both events. The stadium was rugby sevens venue during the Olympic Games.
Stade de France, listed as a Category 4 stadium by UEFA, hosted matches at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League finals in 2000, 2006 and 2022. It has as well hosted the 1999, 2007 and 2023 Rugby World Cups, making it one of only two stadia in the world to have hosted both a FIFA World Cup final and a rugby union World Cup final. It also hosted seven matches at UEFA Euro 2016, including the final, where France lost to Portugal 1–0 in a tense extra time. The facility also hosted the Race of Champions auto race in 2004, 2005, and 2006. The stadium hosted the 2003 World Championships in Athletics, and from 1999 to 2016, it hosted the annual Meeting Areva athletics meet.
Domestically, Stade de France serves as a secondary home facility of Parisian rugby clubs Stade Français and Racing 92, hosting a few of their regular-season fixtures. The stadium also hosts the main French domestic cup finals, which include the Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue, Challenge de France, and the Coupe Gambardella, as well as the Top 14 rugby union championship match.
History
The discussion about a new national stadium in France was asked during the bid process for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, when this issue was noted as one of the weaknesses of the Paris bid for the 1992 Summer Olympics. And despite the existing infrastructure, if the process won, there was a guarantee that the French government and the French Football Federation would build a stadium for more than 80 thousand people and that it would become the main stage of the event. With the confirmation of France's choice announced on July 2, 1992, this new all-seater covered stadium was guaranteed and thus broke the country's tradition of not building any new specific structure for a sporting event, as the last one was the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir. Due to the magnitude and importance of the facility, the Council of State was allowed a first-hand approach to how the stadium would be constructed and paid for. The Council sought for the stadium to be built as close as possible to Paris and their metropolitan area, and that the constructor and operator of the facility would receive significant financial contributions for 30 months following the stadium's completion.The stadium was officially ready for construction following the government's selection of manufacturers, Bouygues, Dumez, and SGE, and the signing of building permits on 30 April 1995. With only 31 months to complete the stadium, construction commenced on 2 May 1995. The first cornerstone was laid five months later, on 6 September. After over a year of construction, over of earthworks had been created, and as much as of concrete had been poured. The roof installation cost €45 million, and the mobile platform took over a year to complete.
During the developmental phase, the stadium was referred to in French as the Grand Stade. On 4 December 1995, the Ministry of Sport launched a design competition to decide on a name for the stadium. The stadium was officially named Stade de France after the Ministry heard a proposal from French football legend Michel Platini, who recommended the name. The total cost of the stadium was €364 million.
The stadium was inaugurated on 28 January 1998, with a friendly football match between France and Spain. The match was played in front of 78,368 spectators, which included President Jacques Chirac, with France winning the match 1–0 with Zinedine Zidane scoring the lone goal, and the first-ever at Stade de France, in the 20th minute. Six months later, France returned to the stadium and defeated Brazil in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final to earn their first World Cup title. Stade de France has hosted group, quarter-final, semi-final and the final match of 1998 FIFA World Cup. The national rugby team's first match in the facility was held five days after its opening, on 2 February, with France earning a 24–17 win over England in front of 77,567 spectators. Philippe Bernat-Salles converted the first ever try at the stadium scoring it in the 11th minute of play.
On 24 May 2000, Stade de France hosted the 2000 UEFA Champions League Final. In the match, which saw 78,759 spectators attend, Spanish club Real Madrid defeated fellow Spanish club Valencia 3–0. In 2003, Stade de France was the primary site of the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. Three years later, event returned to the stadium with another Spanish club Barcelona defeating England's Arsenal 2–1. On 9 May 2009, Stade de France set the national attendance record for a sporting match played in France with 80,832 showing up to watch Guingamp upset Brittany rivals Rennes 2–1 in the 2009 Coupe de France Final. On 22 May 2010, Stade de France hosted the 2010 Heineken Cup Final. On 11 February 2012, a Six Nations international rugby game between France and Ireland had to be cancelled just before kick-off due to the pitch freezing as the stadium lacks under-soil heating.
On 13 November 2015, in one of a series of coordinated shootings and bombings across Paris, Stade de France was targeted. Two small proportion explosions occurred outside the stadium during an international friendly between France and Germany, with French President François Hollande in attendance. The terrorists, however, were unable to enter the stadium stands. The explosion was heard inside the stadium, and many thought it was a firework going off inside the stadium. The attacker wanted to infiltrate the stadium, but was scared away when he saw security and was forced to detonate outside the park. The authorities, aware of what had occurred outside the stadium, chose to continue the match out of concerns that cancelling it would have caused a panic. The stadium has since improved its counter-attack training and strengthened its security. There have since been new guidelines issued by the French police, with mixed reactions.
In 2016, Stade de France was used as the main stadium for the UEFA Euro 2016, hosting seven matches. The stadium was used for the opening ceremony of the tournament which saw French DJ David Guetta perform at the stadium. At the end of his set, Guetta invited Swedish singer Zara Larsson on stage to perform the tournament's official song "This One's for You". Following the ceremony the stadium was used for the tournament's opening game which saw France beat Romania 2–1. Across the next month, the stadium was used for six other tournament matches including the UEFA Euro 2016 Final between France and Portugal. The match followed the closing ceremony which again saw David Guetta perform. Portugal defeated France, 1–0 in extra time, winning the tournament for the first time.
For the third time in its history, the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final was held at the venue. This game between Liverpool F.C. and Real Madrid CF, was delayed because of difficulties admitting fans. The conclusions of the independent review, commissioned by UEFA, found that the early justification from UEFA—that the delay was due to late arriving supporters—was "objectively untrue". The review found that two overarching organisational problems were responsible: the UEFA model for such matches which allowed for an absence of overall control, and the approach to policing the match which inappropriately assumed Liverpool FC supporters posed a public order risk.
Architecture
Stade de France has a movable stand which can be retracted to uncover part of the athletics track. The stadium was notably designed with the assistance of a software simulation of crowd in order to get an accurate observation of how it would look fully developed. The facility was also intended to draw interest in and develop the area of the Plaine Saint-Denis, which straddles the communes of Saint-Denis, Aubervilliers, and Saint-Ouen. The primary goal was to renovate the area by building new residential and tertiary sites.The stadium was built without any undersoil heating as noted when Ireland were due to play France in the Six Nations Tournament rugby union match of 2012, when the game had to be canceled.
In 2002, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering awarded a prize recognizing the unique structure of the stadium, commenting that Stade de France exhibited "a construction of an attractive open architecture of the city, with an elegance and natural lightness".