Design and Construction
The stadium was designed by Kim Swoo Geun. The lines of the stadium's profile imitate the elegant curves of a Korean Joseon Dynasty porcelain vase. Spectator seats are distributed on two tiers, totally covered. Initially built with a capacity of approximately 100,000, today it seats 70,091.
Prior to its construction, Seoul's largest venues were Dongdaemun Stadium and Hyochang Stadium. Seating 30,000 and 20,000 respectively, they were too small to attract world-class sporting events. Construction on the new stadium began in 1977 with the aim of staging the Asian Games in 1986. However, when Seoul was awarded the Games of the XXIV Olympiad in September 1981, this stadium became the centrepiece.
Read more about this topic: Olympic Stadium (Seoul)
Famous quotes containing the words design and/or construction:
“Delay always breeds danger; and to protract a great design is often to ruin it.”
—Miguel De Cervantes (1547–1616)
“The construction of life is at present in the power of facts far more than convictions.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)