TheKing Baudouin Stadium (French:Stade Roi Baudouin[stadʁwabodwɛ̃];Dutch:Koning Boudewijnstadion[ˌkoːnɪŋˈbʌudəʋɛinˌstaːdijɔn]) is a sports ground inBrussels, Belgium. Located in the north-western district of theCity of Brussels, it was built to embellish theHeysel/Heizel Plateau in view of the1935 Brussels International Exposition. It was inaugurated on 23 August 1930, with Crown PrinceLeopold attending the opening ceremony. The stadium hosted 70,000 at the time. Its name honours KingBaudouin, Leopold's successor asKing of the Belgians from 1951 to his death in 1993.

King Baudouin Stadium

Stade Roi Baudouin (French) Koning Boudewijnstadion (Dutch)
Pope Francis leading aHoly Mass at the King Baudouin Stadium in 2024
Former names	Stade du Centenaire orJubelstadion (1930–1946) Stade du Heysel orHeizelstadion (1946–1995)
Location	Avenue de Marathon /Marathonlaan 135/2, 1020Laeken,City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
Public transit	6Heysel/Heizel andRoi Baudouin/Koning Boudewijn
Capacity	50,093[1]
Record attendance	64,073 (Anderlecht vDundee, 6 March 1963)
Field size	106 m × 66 m (348 ft × 217 ft)
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	23 August 1930
Renovated	1995 (€37 million), 2024
Tenants
Belgium national football team (1930–1985, 1995–May 2006, November 2006–present) Union SG (2016–present; forUEFA competitions only) Belgium national rugby union team Royal Excelsior Sports Club Brussels (athletics)

The stadium is located at 135/2,avenue de Marathon/Marathonlaan, on the border of the Bruparck entertainment park (with theAtomium,Mini-Europeminiature park andKinepolis cinema). It can be accessed from themetro stationsHeysel/Heizel andRoi Baudouin/Koning Boudewijn online 6.

The first version of the King Baudouin Stadium was built in 1929–30 by the architect Joseph Van Neck, also chief architect of the1935 Brussels International Exposition, in a classicalmodernist style. Its original name was theJubilee Stadium (French:Stade du Centenaire, Dutch:Jubelstadion) because it was inaugurated as part of the centenary celebrations of theBelgian Revolution, with anunofficial Belgium–Netherlands football match.

In 1946, the stadium was stripped of the wood of its cycling track, and was renamed theHeysel Stadium (French:Stade du Heysel, Dutch:Heizelstadion), after the neighbourhood in which it is located.^[2] In 1971, a tartan track was installed allowing the organisation of athletics competitions. Three years later, in 1974, a new lighting system was installed.

The Heysel Stadium hostedEuropean Cup finals in 1958, 1966, 1974, and 1985 andCup Winners' Cup finals in 1964, 1976 and 1980. The highest attendance at a European game was over 69,000 in 1958.

Despite its status as Belgium'snational stadium, the Heysel Stadium was not well maintained. The stadium's poor condition manifested itself at the1985 European Cup Final. For example, the outer wall had been made ofcinder block, and fans who did not have tickets were seen kicking holes in it to get in.^[3] Additionally, the only escape route led upward, and there were only three gates on each short side–nowhere near enough for the 22,000 people standing on the terraces on either side.^[4]

The stadium's inadequacies had been well known for some time. WhenArsenal played there in the early 1980s, its supporters ridiculed it as a "dump." Indeed, the presidents of the two 1985 European finalists,Juventus andLiverpool, had concluded that Heysel was in no condition to host a European Final, especially one featuring two of the largest and most powerful clubs in Europe at the time. They urgedUEFA to move the match to another ground, to no avail.^[5][6] It later emerged that UEFA had only spent half an hour inspecting the stadium.^[4]

TheHeysel Stadium disaster resulted in the deaths of 39 Juventus spectators after they were attacked by Liverpool fans before the match. Since the disaster, Liverpool FC have maintained that their fans were not to blame. However, all detailed reports state that the Liverpool fans started the charge, incited the violence and were ultimately to blame for the deaths of 39 Juventus fans and local Belgian supporters. They are still yet to accept full responsibility.^[3] Despite the disaster, the stadium continued to be used for Belgium international games from 1986 to 1990 with only minimal improvements made following the disaster. This was in part because the government had already drawn up plans to remodel the stadium into a 35,000-seat facility. Finally, in 1990, UEFA forced the issue by barring Belgium from hosting a European Final until at least 2000.^[4] It also continued to hosttrack and field events and it still hosts theMemorial Van Damme every year.

In 1995, a decade after the disaster, the ground was rebuilt at a cost ofBEF 1,500 million (around €37/$50 million in 1995), and at this time renamed the King Baudouin Stadium, afterthe Belgian monarch who had died two years previously. All that remains of the old stadium is a renovated gateway near the main entrance. The new structure combined the football ground with a running track and facilities for field events. It was re-opened on 23 August 1995 as the home of theBelgium national football team and is the largest stadium in Belgium; it can seat 50,093 spectators. The remodelled stadium hosted the1996 European Cup Winners Cup final, as well as the opening game forEuro 2000.

On 26 May 2006, theBelgian Football Association decided not to use the King Baudouin Stadium anymore for the national team home matches and for theCup final, because the gates of stand one were too narrow and the stadium was deemed unsafe. The next match of the national team was thus held at theConstant Vanden Stock Stadium. The City of Brussels complained that contrary to these claims the stadium was safe, and this complaint was upheld in court. On 6 October 2006, theBelgian Football Association met with representatives of the City of Brussels and they agreed to renew the contract and extend it to 30 June 2008.

In March 2019, the Belgian football association announced plans for a new redevelopment of the King Baudouin Stadium. The stadium would be rebuilt to a reduced capacity of 40,000 spectators and renamed to the Golden Generation Arena with a prospective completion date of 2022.^[7] That idea was quietly discarded. An architectural firm has never been appointed, an environmental study ordered or a client sought. From the politicians, who were said to be positive about the idea across party lines in the beginning, hardly anything is moving.^[8]

Major international football matches have taken place in the King Baudouin Stadium: the finals of theEuropean Champion Clubs' Cup in 1958, 1966, 1974 and 1985, those of theCup of Cups in 1964, 1976, 1980 and 1996, as well as that of theEuropean Championships in 1972 betweenWest Germany and theUSSR (3–0).

The stadium hosted five matches of theUEFA Euro 2000, organised by Belgium and the Netherlands, including the inaugural match between Belgium and Sweden (2–1) on 10 June, and the semi-final between Portugal and France (1–2) on 28 June.

UEFA Euro 2000 matches:

On 18 February 2021, the Belgian women's team played its first official match there. This was a friendly match against the Netherlands (1–6) played as part of the promotion of the triple bid to host theWomen's Football World Cup, the third country being Germany. This choice was explained by the work carried out at the Eneco Stadium (where theRed Flames usually play) during this period.^[9]

TheUCI Track Cycling World Championships were organized in the Heysel stadium in1930 and1935.

The stadium has also been used for road cycling. For instance, stage 2 of both the1949 and the1960Tour de France finished in the Heysel stadion.^[10]

On 25 August 2007,Belgium playedArgentina inrugby union as part of Argentina's2007 Rugby World Cup preparations. Argentina defeated Belgium 36–8.

The stadium was scheduled to witness a rugby union milestone on 19 December 2009, when theParisian clubStade Français planned to take theirHeineken Cup home match againstIrish clubUlster to the stadium in a match that had sold more than 30,000 tickets. However, heavy snowfall in Brussels on the intended matchday forced the cancellation of what would have been the firstHeineken Cup match held in Belgium; the fixture was instead played the following day in Paris.^[11]

The stadium had another shot at hosting a Heineken Cup match in 2012. On 20 October 2012, English clubSaracens took theirHeineken Cup pool match againstRacing Métro to Brussels.^[12]

On 8 July 2010, the stadium played host to the Best of Belgium gala which featured a tennis match originally scheduled to be betweenJustine Henin andKim Clijsters. Unfortunately Henin had to pull out andSerena Williams replaced her as the match was played in front of the largest crowd ever for a single match, beating the attendance set at theBattle of the Sexes.^[13]

Every year, it hosts major sporting events such as the national football team's matches, the Belgian Football Cup final, the prestigious Van Damme Memorial and more. It has also showcased concerts by some of the world's greatest artists, includingthe Rolling Stones,U2,Madonna,Beyoncé,Céline Dion,Johnny Hallyday,Robbie Williams,Genesis,Bruce Springsteen,Ed Sheeran,Coldplay,Rammstein and many more.^[14]

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the stadium, the Belgian State released a commemorative coin: the€10 75 years of Heysel Stadium commemorative coin. The obverse depicts an image of a footballer with the stadium in the background. The flags of Belgium and the Netherlands can be seen on top of the stadium as well as the year that the stadium was built.

• Heysel Stadium disaster
• List of association football stadiums by capacity
• List of tennis stadiums by capacity

•   Media related toKing Baudouin Stadium at Wikimedia Commons
• Belgian FA official website(in French) – history
• Belgian FA official website(in Dutch) – history
• King Baudouin Stadium(in Russian) – information and photos

50°53′45″N4°20′3″E / 50.89583°N 4.33417°E /50.89583; 4.33417