Every year millions of people visit a stadium for some type of sporting event. That’s not the only reason to visit the following stadiums, however. They each have such impressive construction that it just makes sense to visit them and marvel at their beauty. If you are ready for your jaw to drop, visit one of the worlds most beautiful stadiums listed below.
National Aquatics Center
Where: Beijing, China
Capacity: 17,000
Despite that fact that this “stadium” is rather small compared to others on the list, you may recognize it. The National Aquatics Center is where Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals in the Olympics in 2008. It was designed by PTW Architects out of Sydney. It has a square form so that when looking at it and the circular National Stadium that’s located next door, it has “yin and yang” symbolism. The design has become so popular that many structures have been modeled after it, including Macau’s ferry terminal.
Panathenaic Stadium
Where: Athens, Greece
Capacity: 45,000
This u-shaped stadium is where the modern Olympics got it’s start. Much of the original building was buried, but during excavations that took place in the 1800s, some of it was found. The ancient marble held up very well and the stadium was able to be rebuilt before the 1896 Olympic games. Today, the stadium is used for a variety of things and even joggers can use it from 7:30am to 9am each day.
Camp Nou
Where: Barcelona, Spain
Capacity: 99,786
Built back in the 1950s, this is Europe’s largest stadium. The feel of it is sort of retro and cool. While there has been some talk of the stadium being redesigned, many are against it as it is currently one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world.
Allianz Arena
Where: Munich, Germany
Capacity: 71,437
Nicknamed “Schlauchboot”, which means inflatable boat, this arena also houses the Bayern Munich museum. The arena is unique in the fact that it can change colors based on the colors of the team that’s playing there. So if you do happen to visit the Allianz Arena, don’t be surprised if it’s a completely different color than what you’ve seen in pictures.
Ericsson Globe
Where: Stockholm, Sweden
Capacity: 13,850
One of the most interesting things about this stadium is that it looks like the one from the Truman Show. It’s Sweden’s national indoor arena and is currently the world’s largest hemispherical building. The entire structure has a volume of 605,000 cubic metres. It’s mostly used for ice hockey events.
AT&T Stadium
Where: Arlington, Texas
Capacity: 80,000
Right here in the United States we have one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world. It doesn’t have any columns and is technically the world’s largest column-free room. It also has the world’s largest operable glass doors that measure at a whopping 120 feet high by 180 feet wide.
National Stadium
Where: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Capacity: 55,000
The spiral shape of this stadium looks similar to a dragon. There are panels that cover the stadium’s external face that allow for it to be powered almost 100% by solar energy. These panels don’t take away from the beauty of it, and in fact, seem to add too it.
Soccer City
Where: Johannesburg, South Africa
Capacity: 94,7000
This stadium was renovated for the 2010 World Cup. African pottery played a huge role in its aesthetic qualities. An interesting feature of Soccer City is the running lights around the bottom of it. They light up at night and appear to look like fire.
