Built for the 1972 Summer Olympics, Munich’s Olympiapark still stands as a frequently used event venue. Social, cultural, or religious, events and festivals of all kinds congregate year-round in this corner of Munich’s Oberwiesenfeld.
The Olympic complex includes a stadium, swim hall, ice rink and tennis facility, much of which remains open to the public. Concerts are often hosted on-site and Olympiapark also welcomes several regular events. These might be athletic, like the Munich Triathlon, the Six-Day-Run, the 24-Hour-Swim, or the Spartan Race Sprint. They might be cultural, like the Tollwood Festival, the Night of the Proms, or the Summer Music Theatron. Religious events are even held here, such as the Watchtower Congress of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The U3 line of Munich’s U-Bahn system, also known as the Olympic Line, provides a direct route to Olympiapark. MVG buses also serve the area via the Olympiazentrum station and tram lines are due to extend to the southern and western sections of the complex, typically used during the Tollwood Festival.
The 1966 decision to host the Olympic Games in Munich was a monumental one. These Summer Games, scheduled for 1972, would be the first German-hosted Olympics since the 1936 games held in Berlin, which unexpectedly fell under Nazi rule between the decision and the actual games. The 1972 games then focused on technology and the environment, showcasing Germany’s looking toward the future, instead of dwelling on its dark past.