Stade de France: Always the biggest stage

The Stade de France is not only the largest stadium of the country, but since its opening it has constantly been in the focus of major events. The next years are full of highlights – but there were also dark hours.

In 1992, when FIFA selected France to organize the FIFA World Cup in 1998, the country had no large stadiums with a capacity of over 45,000. The French government then decided to build a stadium of 80,000 seats capable of hosting the biggest international sporting events, including the World Cup Final. The Stade de France was born – and has since lived up to expectations. Since its opening on 28 January 1998 – the construction cost 364 million euros at the time and took more than two years. Yet it boasts features like the retractable lower tier that covers the athletics track in the football or rugby setup. So the Stade de France has hosted almost everything a stadium can host: 1998 FIFA World Cup, 2003 World Athletics Championship, 2007 Rugby World Cup, two Champions League finals in 2000 and 2006, 2010 Heineken Cup final and the UEFA Euro 2016...