The world’s largest stadium was born out of a contest of one-upmanship between the two Koreas. After Seoul hosted the 1988 Olympic Games, North Korea intensified efforts to build something grand. This resulted in Pyongyang successfully bidding for the World Festival of Youth and Students in 1989. Among the large-scale preparations for these games was the construction of the Rungrado May Day Stadium. Inaugurated on May 1, 1989, the stadium can seat 114,000, although North Korea claimed it’s 150,000.
The name of the stadium was based on two aspects, its location, set on Rungrado Islet in the Taedong River, and the international labor day May 1st, the day the stadium was inaugurated.
The stadium is used for a variety of purposes, of which its use for sporting activities is the most common. Football matches are common occurrence, and the North Korean national soccer team plays its international fixtures in this stadium. Several athletic events also take place in the stadium every year.
The most popular and frequently occurring event at the stadium is the Arirang performance also known as Mass Games. The annual event has been accepted by The Guinness Book of Records as the largest in the world.
Credit : Topend Sports
Picture Credit : Google
