There is not much time left until the battles of the upcoming World Cup begin on the football fields of Brazil. We all live in anticipation of this great action, because here the strongest national teams will clash. Among other matches, the championship will be hosted by the legendary Maracan stadium (its capacity is almost 77 thousand people), by the way, this is the largest and most capacious arena announced. What is the design and what is its greatness?
Maracana Stadium is a real miracle of sports architecture. Football in Brazil is considered the second religion, and the arena has become its real temple. Here are holding their home matches of the Brazilian championship grandees “Fluminense” and “Flamengo”. In addition, the Maracana stadium is also the main refuge for the national teams of the country of all ages, as well as the final championship and cup competitions. There is an arena in Rio de Janeiro - a city glorified in the dreams of Ostap Bender.
The “Marakana” - stadium was finally completed (photos of the arena from different angles are presented in the article) in 1965. But its official opening took place in 1950, when one of the matches of the World Cup was held here. Such an unusual name is derived from a small river flowing nearby. The stadium was built with funds from the city treasury, and today it is a city property.
The first significant matches in the arena were held during the 4th World Cup. In particular, it was here that the Brazilian national team in a decisive match was defeated by their principal rivals - the team of Uruguay. That competition gathered 199,850 people in the stands, on the whole, the world record for attendance belongs to Maracana. A lot of time has passed since then, but the most significant football events are still held in the legendary arena. The stadium "Maracana" has the shape of an oval, the roof visor is strengthened on the consoles, and the field itself is fenced with a moat (these are such original delights). Near the arena is an indoor gymnasium, where to this day they hold tennis matches, boxing fights, as well as various cultural events. So, for example, in 1980, on the day of the thirtieth anniversary of the stadium, Frank Sinatra gave a concert here.
At the dawn of its existence, the Maracana stadium accommodated 200 thousand people in the stands, however, due to the requirements of the Football Federation, part of the seats outside the gates were abolished, the benches were replaced with numbered seats according to the regulations. An interesting fact: the roof of the building is designed in such a way that water flows from it into special tanks, and after that it is used for flushing in toilets. After the reconstruction, the arena lost the lead and today is inferior in terms of seats to such stadiums in South America as the Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo and others. 82 thousand spectators can watch matches from the stands of the stadium at the World Cup. Including places for disabled people and overweight people are provided here. In 2016, the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games is planned .