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THEN AND NOW: What 10 former Olympic stadiums look like today

This is San Siro, the home of the 2026 opening ceremony.
  • The 2026 Olympics are underway in Italy.
  • Some Olympic venues are abandoned after the games, but the main stadiums often get a second life.
  • Here's what 10 Olympic stadiums looked like in their heyday and what they're used for now.

The 2026 Olympic opening ceremony was a 3 ½-hour extravaganza that mainly took place at Milan's San Siro Stadium.

With a capacity of over 75,000, it's the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums across Europe. It's also the home of soccer teams AC Milan and Inter Milan.

Italy is lucky that San Siro was large enough for the opening ceremony. Many countries have to spend millions constructing a stadium specifically for the opening and closing ceremonies.

But what happens to them after the Games? Some are renovated and turned into sporting arenas. Others are left somewhat abandoned, as the host city often doesn't need the thousands of seats. Or they're destroyed entirely — in Lake Placid, New York, the stadium used for the opening ceremony was demolished soon after the 1980 Games.

Here's what Olympic stadiums looked like at their peak, and how they've changed since the torch was extinguished.

Berlin hosted the Summer Olympics in 1936, mainly at the Olympiastadion Berlin, or Olympic Stadium.
Olympic Games 1936 in Berlin - View from the bell tower (Olympic Tower) over the Maifeld to the fully occupied ranks of the Olympic Stadium; in the middle: the marathon gate - August 1936

The Olympiastadion was built for the 1936 Summer Games. A different stadium was used when Berlin hosted the Winter Games earlier that year.

Ninety years later, some of the venues from the Berlin Olympics are empty and abandoned, but the Olympiastadion is still in use.
BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 21: A general view during the trophy ceremony during the DFB Cup Final match between Bayern Muenchen and Borussia Dortmund at Olympiastadion on May 21, 2016 in Berlin, Germany

After Germany was reunified in 1990, it wasn't clear what Berliners would do with the stadium.

Eventually, it was renovated and reopened in 2004. It's now the biggest stadium in Germany, has hosted the 2006 FIFA Men's World Cup and the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, and has been the home stadium for Hertha BSC since 1963.

Most recently, the 2024 UEFA Euro final was held at the Olympiastadion.

However, some of the other venues from the Berlin Olympics are abandoned, including the swimming hall and Olympic Village.

In 2008, the Summer Olympics were held in Beijing. The festivities opened and closed at the Beijing National Stadium.
BEIJING - AUGUST 08: The National Stadium is illuminated during the Opening Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 8, 2008 in Beijing, China.

The Beijing National Stadium, or the "Bird's Nest," was built inside Beijing's Olympic Green complex specifically for the 2008 Summer Games.

In 2022, the Beijing National Stadium became one of the few Olympic stadiums that hosted both Summer and Winter Games.
An outside view of the National Stadium (also known as the Bird's Nest) in Olympic Park during the pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease (COVD-19). Since the epidemiological situation in mainland China improved considerably by the beginning of May with not more than a few new COVID-19 cases reported daily, Beijing's authorities have been gradually lifting lockdown restrictions. People have been allowed to exercise outside and attend group training sessions, however many still continue to wear face masks in public.

The National Stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies again in 2022 after a 14-year hiatus, according to the Olympics.

In the time since the 2008 Olympics, though, the National Stadium has hosted a handful of sporting events, such as car racing, and concerts, but not many. But the venue costs $10 million a year to maintain, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) reported, so the city charges admission for tours.

When Tokyo first hosted the Olympics in 1964, the National Stadium was the site of the opening and closing ceremonies.
More than 80,000 spectators pack Tokyo's National Stadium for opening ceremonies of the XVIII Olympiad.

The National Stadium's first big event was the 1958 Asian Games. It remained a popular site for sporting events until it closed in 2014, and it even remained unscathed during the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, The Associated Press reported at the time.

The Japan National Stadium, opened in 2016 on the grounds of the original stadium, served as the hub for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
This picture shows the National Stadium, the main venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, lit up at dusk in Tokyo on July 16, 2021.

It cost over $1 billion to construct the new stadium, CNN reported. It's now used by the national soccer and rugby teams.

Montreal's biggest Olympic venue, the Stade Olympique, opened for the 1976 Summer Games.
General view of the Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony

The stadium has been nicknamed the "big O" by locals for its distinct shape ... or the "big owe" for how much it cost the city at the time.

Montreal finally paid off its debts three decades after the Games wrapped, CFR reported.

The stadium hasn't had a permanent tenant since the Montreal Expos left in 2004.
CANADA - JANUARY 26: The Olympic Stadium, 1973-1976, by Roger Taillibert (1926-), Montreal, Quebec. Canada, 20th century in 2016.

The Expos moved to Washington, DC, and became the Washington Nationals in 2005.

In February 2024, Quebec's government announced it would spend $870 million to redo the decaying roof, CFR reported. Without it, the stadium would have to close within two years. As of 2026, the work was underway, with an expected completion date of 2028.

The opening ceremony of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, was held at the temporary Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium.
A generic view of spectators watching the Opening Ceremony for the XIII Olympic Winter Games on 14 February 1980 at the Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium, Lake Placid, United States.

The fields for equestrian events were already there, but the stands for the 30,000 spectators that day were constructed specifically for the Games and later removed, according to the Olympic Studies Centre.

You can still visit the Olympic grounds in Lake Placid to view various venues and locations, but the Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium is gone.

You can learn more about visiting here.

The closing ceremonies of the 1984 Games in Sarajevo were held inside the Zetra Olympic Hall.
Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina - 1984: Closing ceremonies for the 1984 Winter Olympics / XIV Olympic Winter Games, Zetra Ice Hall.

The 1984 Winter Olympics were held in Sarajevo, one of the biggest cities in Yugoslavia, a country that would break up and splinter into multiple countries only a few years later, in 1991.

It's now called the Juan Antonio Samaranch Olympic Hall and sits next to a cemetery memorializing those who died during the siege of Sarajevo.
A picture taken on March 19, 2019 shows the Kosevo wartime cemetery in Sarajevo. - The cemetery was established on an auxiliary football pitch of the Sarajevo city stadium, next to the "Zetra" Olympic Hall (seen in the background).

After Yugoslavia broke up, Sarajevo became the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was subsequently bombed and under siege for almost four years, destroying the original Zetra Ice Hall.

The Juan Antonio Samaranch Olympic Hall was rebuilt in 1999 with the help of a donation from the International Olympic Committee.

Other sites used in the Games have since been left to the elements.

The centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta was Centennial Olympic Stadium.
29 Jul 1996: Carl Lewis of USA in action during the men''s long jump competition at Olympic Stadium during the 1996 Centennial Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Lewis went on to win the gold medal.

The Atlanta Games, unfortunately, will always be remembered for the infamous bombing on July 27.

But after the Olympics, the stadium remained a huge presence in the city. It was shortly turned into Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves from 1997 to 2016.

It changed from Centennial Olympic Stadium to Turner Field to Center Parc Stadium.
Signs encouraging social distancing are seen throughout the stadium prior to the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns vs. Georgia State Panthers game at Center Parc Stadium on September 19, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.

After the Braves departed, Georgia State University acquired the stadium and redesigned it for their football team, the Panthers, who have called Center Parc home since 2017.

The Olympic Stadium of Athens, used for the 2004 Summer Games, is nicknamed "Spyros Louis" after the famed Greek Olympian.
ATHENS, Greece: Members of the audience perform "the wave" as they wait in the Athens Olympic Stadium for the start of 2004 summer games opening ceremony, 13 August 2004. Some 10,000 athletes representing 202 countries will march together in front of 70,000 spectators during the spectacular opening, kicking off a fortnight of sporting competition that is costing 5.8 billion euros (7.2 billion dollars) to stage.

The stadium was originally designed and built in the '80s so Athens could host the 1982 European Championships in Athletics, but it received a major renovation for the 2004 Games, including a new roof, according to the Olympics' website.

Now, multiple Greek soccer teams share the stadium with touring musicians.
Players pay tribute to Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona before the UEFA Europa League group G football match between AEK Athens and Zorya Luhansk at the Athens Olympic Stadium on November 26, 2020.

While some other Olympic venues have seemingly remained untouched since the 2004 Games, the site of the opening and closing ceremonies is quite busy.

However, in October 2023, there were concerns that the roof had become unsafe, Reuters reported, and the stadium was closed until May 2024. Just a few weeks later, Coldplay played two shows in the newly restored stadium.

Fisht Olympic Stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of Sochi 2014 in Russia.
A view of Fisht Stadium in the Olympic Village during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics on February 21, 2014 in Sochi, Russia.

Fisht Stadium was specifically built for the 2014 Winter Olympics. It was built as an enclosed facility.

It was renovated into an open-air arena in 2016 to comply with FIFA regulations.
A view of the Bolshoy Ice Dome and Fisht Olympic Stadium at Sochi's Olympic Park in 2019.

This renovation was in preparation of Russia hosting the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and then the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The capacity of the venue can now be changed from 45,000 to 25,000 depending on its use, according to its engineering consultants Buro Happold.

Additionally, Russian soccer team PFC Sochi plays at Fisht.

The 2016 Summer Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro. Both the opening and closing ceremonies were held in Maracanã Stadium.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 05: Fireworks explode over the Maracana Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 5, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio 2016 will be the first Olympic Games in South America.

Soccer and track-and-field events were also held in Maracanã Stadium, which was originally built in 1950 to host the FIFA World Cup, according to Britannica.

Maracanã Stadium fell into disrepair after the Olympics ended, but new owners acquired it and invested in the stadium.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JUNE 01: An aerial view of the Maracana Stadium on June 01, 2021 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CONMEBOL announced on Monday May 31 that Brazil will host the next Copa America, initially scheduled to be played in Colombia and Argentina. Due to an ongoing social crisis, Colombia was removed as co-host earlier this month and Argentina was pulled out at the last minute as the country faces a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The stadium held the finals for the 2021 Copa América — an international competition between men's soccer teams in South America — in July 2021. The Copa América finals were also played in Maracanã in 2019.

Read the original article on Business Insider
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