There is no atmosphere quite like what is generated at an enormous stadium. There are plenty of incredible structures around the globe that can host tens of thousands of spectators to watch some of football's biggest teams and events. Stadiums can play a pivotal part in a team's success on the pitch, with numbers of fans flooding in to support their clubs and national teams. We are taking a look at the world's biggest
Football stadium, a North Korean masterclass that
Kim Jong-un can proudly boast about. The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium.
North Korea are currently ranked 118th in the
FIFA world rankings and many fans will remember the nation's football team because of their 7-0 defeat to Portugal in the 2010 World Cup. This was a campaign that saw them lose all three of their Group Stage matches. The national team mainly play their matches at Kim II-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, but the Rungrado is also used occasionally. Given the secrecy of the North Korean state, as they are cut off from the Western world, it is often hard to decipher attendance levels at both stadiums and the general popularity of the sport in the country. However, the women's game is currently undergoing a renaissance in North Korea, as they are ranked 11th in the FIFA Women's World rankings, ahead of the likes of Australia and
Italy. They recently just missed out on qualification for the
Paris Olympics by losing 2-1 on aggregate to
Japan in a two-legged qualification match. The Rungrado 1st May Stadium is located in the North Korean capital of
Pyongyang on Rungra Island on the Taedonggang River. It was first opened on the 1st May 1989, hence its name. In North Korea, the first day of May is International Workers' Day, which is celebrated in the country each year. However, life in Pyongyang is a mystery to most, with little tourism in the country due to the strict rules and regulations imposed. Nevertheless, North Koreans will pack out their national stadium for football and athletics events, making the most of its gigantic capacity. The stadium's main use, however, is for the mass games of the Arirang Festival, which is a gymnastics and artistic event held between August and September. The 16 arches in the stadium's scalloped roof are supposed to resemble a magnolia blossom and are arranged in a ring to do so. This is the most notable feature of the stadium, and it covers 94,000spm, which is more than double the next biggest stadium roof in the world, which is the King Fahd Stadium in
Saudi Arabia. The stadium's unique roof and unique design were recognised with the first prize in the 1988 International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. The full-sized football pitch covers 22,500 m2 (242,000 sq ft). Its total floor space is over 207,000 m2 (2,230,000 sq ft), which spans eight stories, and the lobes of its roof peak at more than 60m (200 ft) above the ground. Saying this, the turf surface is artificial, which is something that has drawn criticism in football fixtures around Europe for causing injuries to players during games. The stadium was originally built with an official capacity of 150,000. After a 2014 remodel, which included the replacement of some bench seating with individual seats, observers estimated a new capacity of approximately 114,000. In particular, the upper level, which was largely made up of benching areas, had to be converted to seats, significantly reducing the overall capacity. The renovation was carried out by 10,000 soldiers and finished in time for the end of 2014. The vice-chairman of the committee, Chae Ryong Hae, gave a lengthy speech celebrating the reopening of the Rungrado. Regardless of these changes, the stadium still ranks as the world's biggest football stadium. However, it's not used as much for football games as it should be. The Rungrado's giant capacity has broken attendance records. For example, in 1995, the stadium played host to 190,000 spectators for the wrestling event "Collision in Korea", which set a world attendance record. This record is disputed, though, as the unofficial crowd number for the 1950
World Cup final between
Brazil and Uruguay was 199,854. Officially, 173,850 tickets were sold, but it is estimated that the overall number on the day was much greater. The name of the stadium is named after the day it was officially opened on May 1, 1989. Shortly after it was opened, the World Festival of Youth and Students took place. Since then, the North Korean national team have occasionally played matches at the stadium, but they play more regularly at the Kim II-Sung Stadium, which only has a capacity of 50,000. Not only have football matches taken place at the Rungrado, though. Back in 1992, generals who were caught plotting against the leader Kim Jong II were supposedly publicly executed in the arena. In 2000, the stadium was also recognised globally for the first time when U.S.
Secretary of State Madelaine Albright visited the ground. Two years later, the first Arirang Festival, which is what the stadium is most well known for, was held. This was deliberately done to celebrate the birthdays of the two political figures, Kim II-Sung and Kim Jong II. In July 2019, Kim Jong-un hosted Chinese Communist Party leader
Xi Jinping at the stadium for a special gymnastics and artistic performance called "invincible socialism". The stadium also played host to an inter-Korean summit in 2018, which saw President
moon Jae-in of
South Korea with Kim Jong-un in front of 150,000 spectators. The most recent known event at the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium took place on New Year's Eve in December 2022, with a concert held on the grounds of the stadium. All in all, considering its giant size and structure, we think the stadium could be used a lot more for sporting events across the year. It is worth noting that the largest gymnastics display took place at the Rungrado back in 2007. This saw 100,090 participants perform at the stadium. Nine years later, the Pyongyang marathon was held at the 114,000 capacity arena, due to ongoing redevelopment works at the Kim II Sung, where it traditionally takes place. With the North Korean powerhouse of a stadium coming out on top with how many fans it can hold, what other football stadiums around the world come close to it? At the moment, Michigan Stadium comes closest, with a capacity of 107,601, while Australia's Melbourne Stadium and Barcelona's Camp Nou are not far behind. In the next few years, though, a new arena will overtake the Rungrado 1st May Stadium at the top of the pile. It was announced earlier this year that Morocco were building the Grand Stade de Casablanca in time for the 2030 World Cup. The new stadium will have a capacity of 115,000 and will be designed by Populous, in coordination with the French-Moroccan architectural firm QUALALOU + CHOI. Morocco are set to joint-host the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Spain. The 115,000 venue has an estimated budget of 5 billion Dirhams (Moroccan currency), which is just under £500 million. Included in the new facility will be an indoor swimming pool, a new hotel and a shopping centre. It will be built in time for the World Cup in six years and then be used as the home stadium for Wydad AC and Raja CA thereafter. Rungrado 1st May Stadium North Korea 114,000 Michigan Stadium
United States 107,601 Melbourne Ground Australia 100,024 Camp Nou
Spain 99,354 First National Bank Stadium
South Africa 94,736 The Rungrado was originally built in 1989 in response to the Seoul Olympic Stadium, which was the primary venue for the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea. As we have seen, it is not just a football venue and, throughout the year, it is used by North Korean athletes to train. The stadium has a range of facilities, including swimming pools, running tracks, a mini
golf course and various other indoor spaces. Back in 2013, “It is the determination of the party to successfully remodel the May Day stadium into an icon of sports facilities in the country.” When it comes to football stadiums, the Rungrado sits on top of the pile for now. The Grand Stade de Casablanca will eventually take its place when it is completed, but the Moroccan stadium will still not be the biggest arena in sport. The Narendra Modi Stadium or as it's commonly known the Motera Stadium, has a capacity of 132,000 and hosts
Cricket matches in India. This includes matches in the 1987, 1996, and 2011 Cricket World Cups. Stadium Name Country Capacity Narendra Modi Stadium
India 132,000 Rungrado 1st of May Stadium North Korea 114,000 Michigan Stadium United States 107,601 Beaver Stadium United States 106,572 Ohio Stadium United States 102,780