Asim Ferhatović Hase Olympic Stadium

One of the centerpieces of the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympic Games was the massive Koševo Stadium, which acted as the place which kicked off the entire event with the Olympic Opening Ceremony being held here on February 7th, 1984. While the stadium at Koševo at it appeared during the ceremony was most certainly tailored specifically for the event, the stadium itself dates back as far as 1947. Just after WWII, the architect team of Vaso Todorović & Anatolij Kirjakov devised an enormous "natural" stadium that would fit into the hilly amphitheatre-like landscape of the Koševo neighborhood of Sarajevo. The stadium, which was built largely through voluntary labor from local citizens, post constructed on top of a location that was originally a large man-made lake that operated as a public swimming space, fed by Koševo Stream (after which the new stadium was named). After the completion of the stadium, it operated as the central sporting complex for Sarajevo, hosting not only local events, but major international sporting events as well. When the announcement was made in 1978 that Sarajevo had won the bid to host the Winter Olympic games, Yugoslav planning officials decided that Koševo Stadium would be significantly renovated to better accommodate the expected crowds. These renovations were overseen by the architect team Lidumil Alikalfić & Dušan Đapa. The original stadium had few architectural flourishes or luxuries, so this renovation and expansion greatly modernized the facility and increased its capacity. As the above photos testify, the 1984 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony held here at Koševo Stadium was full of pageantry and celebration, with articles from such outlets like the New York Times newspaper describing them as "spectacular". Even the huge colorful platform upon which the Olympic torch sat at the top of was an imaginative creation of stunning architectural brilliance, truly operating as a testament to the architectural wonders yet to be seen during this Winter Games. Sources indicate that as many as 45,000 people attended the ceremony and watched the lighting of the Olympic Flame, which burned here at Koševo all throughout the games. After the end of the games, the stadium went back to its former pre-Olympic use of hosting local and regional sporting events (primarily football matches). Interestingly, as Koševo Stadium remained in territory under the control of ARBiH through the Bosnian War, sources relate that football matches were played here regularly during the tumultuous and violent Siege of Sarajevo. Meanwhile, former sports fields around the stadium were used as improvised graveyards for the thousands killed in Sarajevo during the war. After the Bosnian War, the extensive damage which the stadium suffered as a result of the conflict was quickly repaired, with a massive re-opening ceremony held at the stadium 1996 by an Olympic athlete organization. Two years after the war ended in 1997, Koševo Stadium famously hosted the British rock band U2 for their "Pop Mart" tour, while Pope John Paul II also hosted an event that same year at the stadium while on a visit to Sarajevo. Today the complex is widely referred to as "Stadium Asim Ferhatović-Hase" (named after the legendary footballer) and continues to host a wide range of sporting and concert events. Future plans are currently being organized to further expand and renovate the stadium.

Visit this stadium often great place

Koševo City Stadium (Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: Gradski stadion Koševo / Градски стадион Кошево), also Koševo Olympic Stadium or Stadium Asim Ferhatović - Hase (Stadion Asim Ferhatović Hase / Стадион Асим Ферхатовић Хасе) is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Koševo neighborhood of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its official name is Olimpijski stadion Koševo – Asim Ferhatović-Hase. Stadium is opened by the city, and leased on longterm basis by football club FK Sarajevo. The club proposed the new name for its sporting and football events, in honor to its former footballer and club's legend, Asim Ferhatović - Hase. It hosted the opening ceremony of the 1984 Winter Olympics.

FK Sarajevo - Celtic FC 1-10-2020 20:00 (local time) 4th round UEFA Europa League (single match, winner go's to groupstage) Game on

Not bad and the Fans of FC Sarajevo love visiting it and watching their team. Kinda old but also if rain falls you will go home wet 😕. It isn’t bad. It would be nice to see it renovated.