Warsaw bids farewell to its stadium, which will make way for a new one

Warsaw - The Warsaw Stadium of the Decade, a witness to both sporting and political events of the past era, will experience its final moments of glory. The farewell to the place, which for years hosted the largest open-air market in Europe, will be marked by the roar of motorcycles. This weekend, motocross races will take place at the former communist sports arena, after which the structure will be razed to the ground. In its place, a national stadium will be built, where the opening match of the 2012 European Football Championship, which Poland is organizing together with Ukraine, is to take place.
    The first football match was played at the stadium in 1955. "Everything was white and red, and all the seats were filled. We expected a lot of sport, but we got a lot of politics," recalled Wladyslaw Kowalczyk about the opening.
    The communists used the venue for propaganda. May Day rallies took place here, and the Peace Race concluded at this location. The stadium also became the site of one of the most tragic episodes of communist Poland. In September 1968, Ryszard Siwiec set himself on fire in the stands during the harvest festival in protest against the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia.
    A brighter moment occurred for the venue, which could accommodate over 70,000 people, in 1983. At that time, Pope John Paul II addressed the nation from here. However, according to eyewitnesses, the decline of the sports facility began thereafter, transforming into a giant market in 1989.
    In the area, Polish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Chechen, Georgian, and Armenian traders operated. They sold both legal and illegal goods, from CD copies and curtains to vegetables, watches, and luxury fur coats, and customers could also find weapons here. About half a million people were employed there. It was bad news for them when UEFA's executive committee decided that the European football championship would take place in Poland and Ukraine in 2012.
    Traders had to say goodbye to "The European Fair," as the place was nicknamed, months ago. They have remained in its immediate vicinity for now. "A place like this won't be found anywhere else, so we want to stay as long as we can," said a local seller of various cigarette brands to ČTK. According to estimates from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBS), the annual turnover of the traders from the stadium was 12 billion zlotys (88 billion crowns).
    On Saturday, the stadium will showcase the best motocross racers in the world during the Red Bull X-Fighters series race. Special stands for 35,000 spectators have been installed for the event and the field has been modified. After the event, workers will immediately begin to dismantle the structure. The Stadium of the Decade and its surrounding area of 30 hectares is set to transform into a national sports center for 55,000 spectators by 2012. The investment costs for the project are 1.2 billion zlotys (approximately 8.9 billion crowns), with the stadium itself costing 665 million zlotys.
    According to UEFA president Michel Platini, the construction of stadiums in Warsaw and Kyiv is a condition for the European Football Championship to take place in Poland and Ukraine. Platini conducted his last inspection in both countries in July. Due to delays in building stadiums as well as highways and sports facilities, the leadership of European football has already threatened both countries several times with the withdrawal of the championship's hosting rights. A decision on whether the grand football celebration will actually take place in the two post-communist countries is expected in the fall.