The Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium () is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. It is currently used mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches. It served as the home ground for the

Azerbaijan national football team The Azerbaijan national football team () is the national association football, football team of Azerbaijan and is controlled by Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan. It represents Azerbaijan in international football competitions. ...

until they moved to the

Baku Olympic Stadium Baku Olympic Stadium () is a stadium, designed and constructed to meet the international standards for stadiums set by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the Internat ...

. It holds 31,200 seats making it the second largest stadium in the country. The stadium is also used by the

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League (), also known as Misli Premyer Liqası for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Azerbaijan and the highest level of the Azerbaijani football league system. It is contested by twelve ...

clubs in the final rounds of European competitions.

History

The Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium was built in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

. Its construction started before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1939, but was suspended. When its construction resumed, it was finished by German

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. Initially the stadium was named after

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

(1878–1953) and built in form of C (Cyrillic: Cтaлин). After the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1956 it was renamed after

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

(1870–1924) as a part of

de-Stalinization De-Stalinization () comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and Khrushchev Thaw, the thaw brought about by ascension of Nik ...

. In 1993, the stadium was named after the famous football referee Tofiq Bahramov (1925–1993) who died in the same year. In 2011, the Presidential Reserve Fund of the State Budget of Azerbaijan for 2011 allocated $10 million for capital repairs and reconstruction of the stadium as it could be used as potential venue for

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song "Running Scared (Ell & Nikki song), Running Scared" by Ell & Nikki, El ...

. During a reconstruction process, the number of seats were increased from 29870 to 31200 and the grass cover football stadium was properly renewed according to FİFA standards. In addition, the projectors which were used to light the stadium were also renewed with innovative and modern technologies. President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

attended the opening of the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium after major overhaul and reconstruction on 16 August 2012. The stadium was one of the venues for the group stages of the

2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the third edition of the women's football tournament, and was held in Azerbaijan from 22 September to 13 October, following a decision by the executive committee on 19 March 2010. Defending champions Sou ...

. One Group A match, a semi-final and the final were played there.

Events

The athletics competitions of the

European Youth Olympic Festival The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) is a biennial multi-sport event for youth (14 to 18 years old) athletes from the 50 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. The festival has a summer edition, held for the fi ...

( EYOF) was held at the stadium between July 22 and 27, 2019. The stadium also hosted

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

at 2015 European Games. Aside from sporting uses, several concerts have been played at Tofiq Bahramov, with such big names as

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

and

Tarkan Tarkan may refer to: People * Tarkan (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Tarkan (singer) (born 1972), Turkish pop singer Other uses

* Tarkhan, an ancient Turkic and Mongol nobility title * Tarkan (comics), a fic ...

playing.

Concerts

Gallery

File:Tofiq Bahramov Stadium.jpg, Panorama of the stadium. File:Tofik Bakhramov Stadium from Satellite.png, The view of the stadium from satellite. File:Fans of Karabakh FK.jpg, Qarabağ FK during the Europa League qualifier match. File:Azerbaijan flag, Qarabağ (AZE) - Saint Etienne (FRA) football match (4).jpg, Big flag of Azerbaijan during the Europa League group match.

References

{{2015 European Games venues Football venues in Baku Athletics (track and field) venues in Azerbaijan

Sports venues completed in 1951 Neftçi PFK Multi-purpose stadiums in Azerbaijan 2015 European Games venues

History

Events

Concerts

Gallery

See also

References