Estádio da Luz
File:Estádio da Luz.svg | |
File:Estadio Benfica April 2013-1.jpg | |
Full name | Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica |
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Address | Av. Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, 1500-313 |
Location | Lisbon, Portugal |
Coordinates | 38°45′10″N 9°11′05″W / 38.7527°N 9.1847°W |
Public transit | Lisbon Metro Azul at Alto dos Moinhos Lisbon Metro Azul at Colégio Militar/Luz |
Owner | S.L. Benfica |
Operator | S.L. Benfica |
Executive suites | 156 |
Capacity | 65,592 |
Record attendance | Official match: 64,591[2] (13 May 2017) All-time: 65,400 (25 October 2003) |
Field size | 105 x 68 m |
Surface | Grass |
Scoreboard | Yes |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 2003 |
Opened | 25 October 2003 |
Construction cost | €162 million[1] |
Architect | HOK Sport (now Populous) |
Tenants | |
Benfica (2003–present) Benfica B (2003–2006, 2012–2013) Benfica women's (2018–present; selected matches) Portugal national football team (selected matches) | |
Website | |
slbenfica.pt |
The Estádio da Luz (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɨˈʃtaðju ðɐ ˈluʃ]), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club Benfica, its owner. Opened on 25 October 2003 with an exhibition match between Benfica and Uruguayan club Nacional, it replaced the original Estádio da Luz, which had 120,000 seats. The seating capacity of the new stadium is currently set at 64,642.[3] The stadium was designed by HOK Sport Venue Event (now Populous) and had a construction cost of €162 million.[1] A UEFA category four stadium and one of the biggest stadiums by capacity in Europe (the biggest in Portugal), Estádio da Luz hosted several matches of the UEFA Euro 2004, including its final, as well as the 2014 and 2020 finals of the UEFA Champions League. It was elected the most beautiful stadium of Europe in a 2014 online poll by L'Équipe.[4][5][6] By its fifteenth birthday, Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica Luz had welcomed more than 17 million spectators.[7] The stadium is one of the potential venues for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Portugal will co-host along with Morocco and Spain.
Naming
While the previous Benfica stadium was also officially named "Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica", both the old and the new stadia are invariably referred to by their unofficial name, Estádio da Luz. Luz is the name of the neighborhood the stadium was built on, on the border between the parishes of Benfica and Carnide, which itself derives its name from the nearby Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Luz (Church of Our Lady of Light). This unofficial name caught on soon after the original stadium's construction;[8] the people of Lisbon used to simply call it a Luz ("the Light"). Therefore, the stadium's common name became "Estádio da Luz", which is usually anglicised to "Stadium of Light".[9] This translation, however, could be argued to be inaccurate, since Luz refers not to "light" but to the original address of the stadium: Estrada da Luz ("Road of Light").[10][11]
Characteristics
Architect Damon Lavelle,[12] from HOK Sport Venue Event (now Populous), designed the stadium to focus on light and transparency. Its polycarbonate roof allows the sunlight to penetrate the stadium in order to illuminate it. The roof, which is supported by tie-beams of four steel arches, seems to float on the underlying tribunes. The arches are 43 metres (141 feet) high and help define the look of the stadium, after having been shaped to be similar to the wavy profile of its three tiers. According to Lavelle, the seating capacity may be increased up to 80,000.[13] However, the most realistic option is to expand by selling standing places, which would require a change in the law.[14] In June 2024, Sport Lisboa e Benfica announced that it would increase the stadium's capacity to nearly 66,000 spectators (65,592) by adding 950 seats in a row of seats around the stadium reserved for people with motor disabilities.[15]
Notable matches
Opening game
Benfica Portugal | 2–1 | Uruguay Nacional |
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Nuno Gomes File:Soccerball shade.svg 7', 47' | Report | Mello File:Soccerball shade.svg 11' |
In the opening match, Benfica beat Uruguayan side Nacional 2–1 with goals from Nuno Gomes, who became the first ever scorer at the Estádio da Luz.
UEFA Euro 2004 Final
Portugal File:Flag of Portugal.svg | 0–1 | File:Flag of Greece.svg Greece |
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Report | Charisteas File:Soccerball shade.svg 57' |
2014 UEFA Champions League Final
Highest attendance official match
On round 33 of the 2016–17 Primeira Liga, in a match where Benfica were crowned national champions for a fourth consecutive season (a new achievement for them), Estádio da Luz recorded its best attendance in official matches.[2]
2019–20 UEFA Champions League
Quarter-finals
Barcelona Spain | 2–8 | Germany Bayern Munich |
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Report |
Final
Paris Saint-Germain France | 0–1 | Germany Bayern Munich |
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Report | Coman File:Soccerball shade.svg 59' |
International matches
Portugal national team matches
The following national team matches were held in the stadium.
Euro 2004 matches
Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 June 2004 | File:Flag of France.svg France | 2–1 | File:Flag of England.svg England | Group B | 62,487 |
16 June 2004 | File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia | 0–2 | File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal | Group A | 59,273 |
21 June 2004 | File:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia | 2–4 | File:Flag of England.svg England | Group B | 57,047 |
24 June 2004 | File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal | 2–2 (6–5 on pen.) | Quarter-finals | 62,564 | |
4 July 2004 | 0–1 | File:Flag of Greece.svg Greece | Final | 62,864 |
Benfica matches in UEFA competitions
- As of match played 23 October 2024
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- All-time statistics
- 115 matches: 71 wins, 21 draws, 23 losses
- 197 goals scored, 102 goals conceded
Concerts
Date | Artist/band | Concert tour | Total audience |
---|---|---|---|
1–2 June 2019 | Ed Sheeran[19] | ÷ Tour | 120,716[20] |
26 June 2023 | Rammstein[21] | Rammstein Stadium Tour | 50,000[22] |
24–25 May 2024 | Taylor Swift[23] | The Eras Tour | 120,000[24] |
26 June 2025 | Imagine Dragons[25] | Loom World Tour |
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The match was played behind closed doors to comply with restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Vender jogadores para gerar receitas" [Selling players to generate revenue]. Record (in português). 29 April 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "History has been made". S.L. Benfica. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- ↑ "fsd150611.pdf" (PDF). CMVM (in português). S.L. Benfica. 14 April 2016. pp. 81–82. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- ↑ "Estádio da Luz é o mais bonito da Europa" [Estádio da Luz is the most beautiful of Europe]. Record (in português). 22 October 2014. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ↑ "Luz considerado o estádio mais bonito" [Luz considered the most beautiful stadium]. SAPO Desporto (in português). 22 October 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- ↑ Tavares da Silva, Hugo (22 October 2014). "Estádio da Luz é o mais bonito da Europa" [Estádio da Luz is the most beautiful of Europe]. Observador (in português). Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- ↑ "Luz recebeu mais de 17 milhões de espectadores em 15 anos" [Da Luz welcomed more than 17 million spectators in 15 years]. A Bola (in português). 25 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ↑ Silveira, João Pedro. "Luz: a Catedral" [Luz: the Cathedral]. zerozero (in português). Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- ↑ Lutz, Tom (20 March 2012). "Benfica's Stadium of Light to host 2014 Champions League final". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
- ↑ "Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica (Luz)". Sport Lisboa e Benfica - Site Oficial. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ↑ Hunter, James (20 April 2017). "The Princess Diana Stadium? Sir Bob Murray reveals request to rename the Stadium of Light". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ↑ "15 Best Football Stadiums in the World". twelfthman blog. 10 December 2019. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ↑ "Arquiteto da Luz admite alargamento para 80 mil lugares" [Da Luz' architect admits enlargement to 80 thousand seats]. Bancada (in português). 29 October 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- ↑ Moreira, António Vasconcelos (18 September 2019). "Expansão do Estádio da Luz pode passar pela venda de bilhetes para assistir aos jogos de pé". O Jornal Económico (in português). Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ↑ "Notícia Record: Benfica aumenta lotação da Luz em 950 lugares". www.record.pt (in português). Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ↑ "Full-time report" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- ↑ "Full Time Summary Quarter-finals – Barcelona v Bayern Munich" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ↑ 6–5 after penalty shoot-out.
- ↑ "As imagens do concerto de Ed Sheeran no estádio da Luz" [The pictures of Ed Sheeran's concert at Estádio da Luz]. Renascença (in português). 2 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ↑ "Ed Sheeran à beira de bater recorde em Portugal". Jornal Expresso (in português). Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ↑ "Rammstein: a Luz com labaredas (as fotos)" [Rammstein: Luz with flames (the photos)]. M80 (in português). 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ↑ Cardoso, Joana Amaral (26 June 2023). "Rammstein quase esgotam o Estádio da Luz, com cantor suspeito de agressão sexual". PÚBLICO (in português). Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift The Eras Tour". taylorswift.com. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ↑ Portugal, Rádio e Televisão de (26 May 2024). "Taylor Swift em Lisboa. Mais de 120 mil pessoas assistiram aos dois concertos". Taylor Swift em Lisboa. Mais de 120 mil pessoas assistiram aos dois concertos (in português). Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ↑ "Imagine Dragons no Estádio da Luz em 2025". Blitz (in português). 9 September 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.