Opening
The Donbass Arena was completed ahead of schedule, but the grand opening was delayed until 29 August 2009 to coincide with the Ukrainian holiday of Miners Day, as well as Donetsk City day. Donetsk is in the Donbass region, a mining region, and the date was chosen for its symbolism. The prime tenants of the facility are named Shakhtar Donetsk ("Donetsk Coal Miners").
American Pop/R&B singer-songwriter Beyoncé Knowles performed a show from her I Am... Tour on the opening night of the new stadium. It was Knowles' first performance in Ukraine. Beyoncé performed her famous hit Halo to honour the memory of Michael Jackson, who would have had his birthday on that day.
Many state officials attended the show designed by K-events Filmmaster Group. The opening ceremony was awarded as Event of the Year at the Stadium Business Awards on June 18, 2010 in Dublin.
Shakhtar Donetsk's first match at the stadium was a 4–0 victory in a Ukrainian Premier League 2009–10 Round 8 fixture on 27 September 2009 against FC Obolon Kyiv. The first international game took place on November 18, 2009 against Greece, which Ukraine lost 0-1 failing to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Read more about this topic: Donbas Arena
Famous quotes containing the word opening:
“Haven’t you heard, though,
About the ships where war has found them out
At sea, about the towns where war has come
Through opening clouds at night with droning speed
Further o’erhead than all but stars and angels
And children in the ships and in the towns?”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Nay, be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“They don’t advertise for killers in the newspaper. That was my profession. Ex-cop. Ex- blade runner. Ex-killer.”
—David Webb Peoples, U.S. screenwriter, and Ridley Scott. Rick Deckard, Blade Runner, reading the newspaper—his opening lines (1982)