Description
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, in Saint-Denis just north of Paris: the home of the French football and rugby teams and the largest stadium in the country, with more than 80,000 seats.
The building is worth a look for its elliptical roof, about six hectares weighing some 13,000 tonnes, which shelters the spectators but leaves the pitch open to the sky. Part of the lower stand can retract to uncover the athletics track beneath.
It opened in 1998, and that summer France won the World Cup final here, beating Brazil 3–0. Michel Platini, who led the organizing committee, suggested the name. Since then it has hosted the Rugby World Cup finals of 2007 and 2023 and the athletics of the 2024 Olympics.
It is also the great concert hall of Paris: the Rolling Stones opened it to music in 1998, in front of more than 76,000 people.
The building is worth a look for its elliptical roof, about six hectares weighing some 13,000 tonnes, which shelters the spectators but leaves the pitch open to the sky. Part of the lower stand can retract to uncover the athletics track beneath.
It opened in 1998, and that summer France won the World Cup final here, beating Brazil 3–0. Michel Platini, who led the organizing committee, suggested the name. Since then it has hosted the Rugby World Cup finals of 2007 and 2023 and the athletics of the 2024 Olympics.
It is also the great concert hall of Paris: the Rolling Stones opened it to music in 1998, in front of more than 76,000 people.