Gelora Bung Karno Stadium

The stadium under construction, April 1962.

Construction began on 8 February 1960 and finished on 21 July 1962,[8] in time to host the following month's Asian Games. Its construction was partially funded through a special loan from the Soviet Union. The stadium's original capacity of 110,000 people was reduced to 88,306 as a result of renovations for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. The stadium is well-known for its ring-shaped facade, the temu gelang, which was designed to shade spectators from the sun, and increase the grandeur of the stadium.[9]

The massive roof ring structure popularly dubbed as Temu Gelang by Sukarno.

The stadium with new seats, January 2018.

Although the stadium is popularly known as Gelora Bung Karno Stadium (Stadion Gelora Bung Karno) or GBK Stadium, its official name is Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (Stadion Utama Gelora Bung Karno), as there are other stadiums in the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, such as the Sports Palace and the secondary stadium. It was known as Senajan (EYD: Senayan) Main Stadium from its opening through the 1962 Asiad until the complex's name was changed to Gelora Bung Karno by a Presidential Decree issued on 24 September 1962, twenty days after the games ended. During the New Order era, the complex was renamed "Gelora Senayan Complex" and the stadium was renamed "Gelora Senayan Main Stadium" in 1969 under the "de-Sukarnoization" policy by then-President Suharto. After the fall of the dictatorship, the complex name was reverted by President Abdurrahman Wahid in a decree effective since 17 January 2001. The stadium served as the main venue of the 2018 Asian Games and Asian Para Games, hosting the ceremonies and athletics. It underwent renovations in preparation for the events; to comply with FIFA standards, all of the stadium's existing seating was replaced, including its remaining bleachers, making it an all-seater with a capacity of 77,193. The new seats are coloured in red, white, and grey—resembling a waving flag of Indonesia. A new, brighter LED lighting system was also installed, with 620 fixtures, and an RGB lighting system was installed on the stadium's facade. Improvements were also made to the stadium's accessibility.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

During the 2007 Asian Cup match (Indonesia vs South Korea).

GBK Stadium hosted the 2007 Asian Cup final between Iraq and Saudi Arabia and is projected to host the final match of the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Other competitions held there are several Tiger Cup finals and domestic cup finals.

The stadium was one of the venues for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.

The following games were played at the stadium during the Asian Cup of 2007:

Date	Time (UTC+07)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Round	Attendance
10 July 2007	17:15	Indonesia	2–1	Bahrain	Group D	60,000
11 July 2007	19:30	South Korea	1–1	Saudi Arabia	Group D	15,000
14 July 2007	19:30	Saudi Arabia	2–1	Indonesia	Group D	88,000
15 July 2007	19:30	Bahrain	2–1	South Korea	Group D	9,000
18 July 2007	17:15	Indonesia	0–1	South Korea	Group D	88,000
22 July 2007	20:15	Saudi Arabia	2–1	Uzbekistan	Quarter-finals	12,000
29 July 2007	19:30	Iraq	1–0	Saudi Arabia	Final	60,000

SMTown Live World Tour III at the SUGBK, 2012.

Other than sports, the stadium is also used for other events such as national ceremonies, political gatherings, admission exams, religious affairs, concerts, etc. Notable events include:

• The Grand Catholic mass led by Pope John Paul II, on 9 October 1989.[17] Which was attended by more than 100,000 people.
• The 100th anniversary of Indonesian National Awakening day, 20 May 2008[18]
• The political rally for both of parliamentary and also presidential elections in 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019. The 2019 final day campaign for both presidential candidates were held in this stadium. The final campaign were held on 7 and 13 April 2019 respectively. Each final campaign was attended by more 77,000 supporters, arguably the most attended one-day campaign rally in the history of Indonesian presidential campaign.[19]
• Christmas event jointly organized by the Indonesia Bethel Church for the whole district since 2006 until now (only absent in 2012)
• Indonesia Tiberias Church Christmas Services since 2000 until now (except in 2016 and 2017)[20]
• HKBP Jubileum (147th in 2007 and 150th in 2011)
• The 85th anniversary of Nahdlatul Ulama (2011)[21]
• Caliphate Conference of Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia, 6 June 2013[22]
• Admission exams for thousands Indonesian Ministry of Health civil servants applicants on 3 November 2013[23]

Istora Mandiri MRT station, the nearest Jakarta MRT station to the stadium complex.

KRL Commuterline providing the service through Palmerah railway station, within walking distance from the compound while Jakarta MRT provide the service through Istora Mandiri station. Two corridors of Transjakarta BRT also serving this area. An extension of currently under-construction Greater Jakarta LRT also planned to serve the western perimeter of the compound.

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  President Sukarno, the namesake of the stadium.
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  The SUGBK in a 1962 Asian Games commemorative stamp
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  The stadium in a 1979 Southeast Asian Games commemorative stamp
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  A view of the main stadium from the 46th floor of Wisma 46
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  During the 2007 AFC Asian Cup (Indonesia vs Saudi Arabia)
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  A multi-color LED lighting system was installed on the stadium's facade
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  The stadium's west plaza
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  The SUGBK during the 2018 Asian Games opening ceremony
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  The SUGBK during the 2018 Asian Games opening ceremony
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  The SUGBK during the 2018 Asian Games opening ceremony
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  The Garuda Pancasila at the stadium
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  Post-renovation SUGBK illuminated with changing colors LED lights (red shown) on the nights during the 2018 Asian Games
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  The SUGBK during the 2018 Asian Para Games (APG) opening ceremony
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  The spectators in the tribune during 2018 Asian Para Games athletics
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  The stadium during 2019 Liga 1 match between Persija Jakarta and Arema on 3 August 2019

• Pour, Julius (2004), Dari Gelora Bung Karno ke Gelora Bung Karno (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Grasindo, ISBN 978-979-732-444-5.

• List of stadiums by capacity
• List of Asian stadiums by capacity
• List of Southeast Asia stadiums by capacity

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

• Profile on GBK Sports Complex Official Website