Today's Article - Rungrado 1st of May Stadium

This article is for quizzes on Wednesday August 24th...

The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, completed on May 1, 1989. It is currently the largest stadium in the world, with a capacity of 150,000, and occupies 20.7 hectares (51 acres).

It is currently used for football matches, a few athletics events, but most often for Arirang Festival performances (also known as the Mass Games). The stadium can seat 150,000, which is the largest stadium by capacity in the world and the world's 12th largest sporting venue.

Its name comes from Rungrado Islet in the Taedong River, upon which it is situated, and May Day, the international labour day. Its scalloped roof features 16 arches arranged in a ring, and it is said to resemble a magnolia blossom. It is not to be confused with the nearby 50,000 capacity Kim Il-sung Stadium.

It hosts events on a main pitch sprawling across over 22,500 m² (242,200 ft²). Its total floor space is over 207,000 m² (2.2 million ft²) across eight stories, and the lobes of its roof peak at more than 60 m (197 ft) from the ground.

While the stadium is used for sporting events, it is most famous as the site of massive performances and shows celebrating Kim Il-sung and the North Korean nation. In June–July 2002 it was the site of a large choreographed "Arirang Festival" gymnastic and artistic performance. The extravaganza involved for the first time some 100,000+ participants—double the number of spectators, and was open to foreigners. These performances are now an annual feature in Pyongyang, usually in August and September. The Guinness Book of Records has recognized these events as the largest in the world.

In the late 1990s, a number of North Korean army generals implicated in an assassination attempt on Kim Jong-il were executed via burning in the stadium.