Helsinki Olympic Stadium has had an exciting life. It was completed for the Olympic Games of 1940, but due to the Second World War, the games were not organised until 1952. Now, our 80-year-old national icon will be reborn.

Let us take a closer look at the proportions of the Olympic Stadium. We are standing in front of the screen built in the northern bend in the 1980s. The video screen is enormous. It clearly comes from the time before flat screen televisions, as it requires similar space on the backside as a CRT television. Larger than a detached house, the cube is so huge it cuts back 500 seats from the grandstand.

Major demolition work was started at the stadium at the beginning of June 2016. A new maintenance traffic connection will be built underneath the video screen on the field level in the northern bend to significantly improve safety and logistics. For this reason, the grandstand structures need to be extensively demolished. The old video screen will be demolished in connection with this work. Hundreds of square metres of the original stand slabs will be demolished during the project. Due to protective regulations and the old construction methods, massive temporary support structures had to be made before the load-bearing structures could be reconstructed after the demolition.

“Minimising the environmental stress caused by demolition work cannot be stressed enough. The video screen is a great example of how practically all the structures and electronics can be recycled.”

Jari Kiiski, Site Manager, Delete Finland Ltd.