Camp Nou

By Oriol Sentis

Camp Nou stadium is where BFC plays. It is the stadium with the greatest capacity in Europe: 99,354 spectators.

It was built when Francisco Miró-Sans was president of the club, because there was not enough room for all the fans at the old ground in Les Corts. The architect Francesc Mitjans, the cousin of Miró-Sans, was in charge of the project. The building work began in March 1953, with an initial budget of 67 million pesetas. Finally, it cost 288 million, because of various problems in the construction process.

It opened on 24th September 1957 with the name of BFC stadium, but it is popularly called Camp Nou, or “new pitch”, in memory of the replacement of the old Les Corts stadium. In the 2000-2001 season it was officially renamed after a referendum.

A series of commemorative events was organized, as wellas a friendly soccer match between BFC and the Warsaw (Legia Warszawa) Selection, which ended with the victory of BFC, 4-2. Eulogio Martínez scored the first goal of the match and also the first goal in the history of the Camp Nou.

The Camp Nou is the official headquarters of BFC, with administrative offices and the club's museum, which is the most visited in Catalonia.

Several social events have also been held in the Camp Nou:

On 7th November 1982: Mass officiated by Pope John Paul II.

On 6th July 1985: Lluís Llach concert.

In July 1988: Concert by Frank Sinatra.

On August 3rd 1988: Bruce Springsteen concert.

On 9th August 1988: Michael Jackson concert.

On 8th September 1988: Julio Iglesias concert.

On 10th September 1988: macro-concert in favor of Human Rights, organized by Amnesty International, with performances by Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour, Tracy Chapman and The Last of the Row.

On 13th July 1997: The Three Tenors Concert: Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.

On 1st October 1999: Concert by José Carreras, as part of the events of the Centenary of BFC.

On 7th August 2005: U2 concert, as part of its "Vertigo Tour".

On 19th and 20th July 2008: Bruce Springsteen performs the last two concerts of his "Magic" tour.

On June 30th and July 2nd 2009: U2 concerts, as part of its "TOUR 360 °''.