Ullevi is Sweden’s largest arena and was inaugurated in 1958. The architects behind the structure are Sten Samuelsson and Fritz Jaenecke. The name Ullevi means “Ull’s property or temple” and it stems from Ull, the god of such diverse things as snowshoes, hunting, the bow and the shield according to ancient Norse mythology.

In the run-up to the World Athletics Championships of 1995, the arena was extended to its current capacity of 43,000 seated spectators at sports events and 60,000 at musical events (of which 25,000 on the pitch itself).

Public attendance record
The record for public attendance is held by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. On 8 June 1985 no less than 64,312 people came to see and hear The Boss and his accompanying band. And it was during this rock concert that Ullevi literally rocked – making it necessary to install “rock-proof” foundations for future events.
Following the reinforcements and extension in 1995, the second-largest public attendance record was taken when Swedish pop band Gyllene Tider came to Ullevi. 7 August 2004 saw 58,977 people attend their GT25 concert.
The largest single sports event held at Ullevi is Swedish heavyweight boxer Ingemar Johansson’s title fight against Eddie Machen on 14 September 1958, when 53,614 spectators flocked to Ullevi.
The public attendance record for multiple-day events is held by the World Athletics Championships of 1995. Over the ten days of the event, 592,240 spectators came to Ullevi.

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