ADVERTISING

The King Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca, with a capacity of 115,000 seats, will be the largest football arena in the world and will be built for the 2030 World Cup, one of the hosts of which will be Morocco. The authors of the project expect that it will be here that the final match of the tournament will be played, which the Spanish Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid and Camp Nou in Barcelona are also bidding to host.

The 2030 World Cup, which will be held 100 years after the first World Cup, will be held for the first time on three continents at once – Europe, Africa and South America.

Currently, the record holder for the largest football stadium is the Neungnado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, which holds 114,000 spectators. In general, the largest stadium in the world is the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India. It holds up to 132,000 spectators, but they play cricket there, not football.

Preparation for construction Grand Stade Hassan II began in October 2023 on a 100-hectare site.

The stadium was designed by Parisian architects Oualalou + Choi and world leader in sports design Populous.

The roof design is inspired by Moroccan traditions and looks like a huge tent.

The main stadium will be surrounded by groups of gardens that will house smaller sports fields and complexes. A natural and sports oasis will be created 38 kilometers north of Casablanca.

The project cost is estimated at 455 million dollars.

Tarik Oualalou + Choi, director and co-founder of Oualalou + Choi and lead architect for the project, said: “Grand Stade Hassan II is rooted in Moroccan culture, with its traditions and contemporary expressions. It draws on ancient and primordial images: the moussem, the tent and the garden, as well as the topography and landscapes of Morocco. It is a generous space, open to the world and respectful of the nature it protects. Casablanca’s Grand Stade Hassan II is the embodiment of the great traditions of Moroccan hospitality.”