Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium continues to deliver after half century

Luzhniki stadium successfully hosted the World Athletics Championships ahead of its proposed renovation for the 2018 football World Cup. The stadium received plaudits for its organisation and atmosphere, even though there were not always full houses for the daytime sessions. The field, tracks and jumping areas at the 84,745-capacity stadium were renewed for the Champs.

Moscow’s chief architect Sergey Kuznetsov told AFP:

The arena, which is also a historic monument, will not be demolished. But it’s also impossible to leave it as it is because it doesn’t fit the strict FIFA demands for World Cup venues. But the outward appearance of the venue will not be seriously changed, to keep this historic memory of the nation alive.

Officially opened on 31 July 1956, the last major renovation was in 1995, when its stands were equipped with individual plastic seats and a roof added.

The stadium’s Deputy General Director, Boris Megrelidze said:

The renovation of the arena will begin right after the end of the athletics championships. We’re planning the capacity of around 88,000 seats after the reconstruction. It’s the FIFA demand and we shall adhere to it unconditionally.

During the IAAF World Championships Aggreko continued its record of supplying power to major sporting events. Ensuring reliable systems to power the broadcast facilities was a major consideration for both the organisers and the broadcast services provider, Eurovision Production Coordination (EPC).

Aggreko powered all aspects of the international television broadcast facilities within the stadium including the field of play camera positions, time keeping, television studios and commentary boxes. Outside of the stadium, the system also powered the television compound and the International Broadcast Centre (IBC). The installation consisted of 6 MW of power generation connected throughout the Luzhniki stadium via a network of 250 distribution panels and 20 kilometres of cable.

David de Behr, Head of Events Services, Aggreko EMEA, said:

I am very excited that Aggreko’s extensive expertise, knowledge and experience in supporting the world’s major sporting and cultural events is now available to the Russian events market.

Original article