Munich’s Stadium Of Light

From the outside, it looks like a UFO that has just landed on the outskirts of Munich. The new Allianz Arena, designed by Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, is one of the most innovative and futuristic sports stadiums of our time and a monument to football. When you first visit the building, your immediate response is, Wow! You simply can't believe your eyes.

The first thing that strikes you is the stadium's changing color — when FC Bayern Munich is playing, it's illuminated in the team's trademark red; when the Lions from the Second Bundesliga club TSV 1860 Munich are on, it's lit in their traditional blue.

JAN PITMAN / BONGARTS-GETTY IMAGES

BLUE HEAVEN The arena when Munich's TSV 1860 play

Twenty-five thousand fluorescent lights in different hues are mounted on the facade to produce that spectacular effect. And entering the stadium is like stepping onto a Star Wars set. The grandstands curve upward from the pitch, giving every single one of the 66,000 spectators a full view of what's going on.

Fans are extremely close to the action, too; the distance between the edge of the playing field and the first row of seats is around 7.5 m. Above you is the remarkable roof, made up of almost 2,900 inflatable, sensor-equipped cushions that pump themselves up for extra support when rain or snow accumulates on top. And last but not least, the acoustics in the Allianz Arena make the fans' cheers and shouts resound and reverberate, so that you almost feel as if you're at a rock concert!

Tennis star Boris Becker is on the advisory board of FC Bayern

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