The Great Strahov Stadium is a stadium in the Strahov district of Prague, Czech Republic. It was built for displays of synchronized gymnastics on a massive scale, with a field three times as long and three times as wide as the standard association football pitch. Its capacity of 250,000 spectators made it larger than any current or former sports stadium, and the second largest sports venue ever.
Great Strahov Stadium as seen from Petřín lookout tower
Great Strahov Stadium from southeast
Interior of the stadium from northeast corner (2006)
Všesokolský slet [cs] in 1932, organized by Sokol
The Spartakiads or Spartakiades in Czechoslovakia were mass gymnastics events, designed to celebrate the Red Army's liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945. The name refers to the 1921 Prague Spartakiad organised by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. They were organised by the Communist government as a replacement of the similar Sokol gatherings, which were disapproved by the regime and discontinued after World War II. The Spartakiads took place at the Strahov Stadium, the largest stadium ever built and the venue of the last pre-war Sokol gathering. Most of the organisers of the Spartakiads were former Sokol officials.
1965 Spartakiad
1960 Spartakiad view from the stands.
1965 Spartakiad performance.
Members of the Czechoslovak People's Army about to perform in the 1980 Spartakiad.