left|The Lia Manoliu Stadium, Bucharest The Lia Manoliu Stadium (Stadionul Lia Manoliu in Romanian) is a multi-use stadium in Bucharest, Romania. It is currently used mostly for football matches.The stadium holds 60,120. It was built in 1953, for the 4th World Festival of Youth and Students. It was first known as Stadionul 23 August, and later on as Stadionul Naţional (National Stadium). It is now named after Lia Manoliu, a discus thrower who competed at a record six Summer Olympics, winning three medals.
In October 2005, it was decided to rebuild the stadium completely; initially, however, no funding was found, so some repairs proceeded in lieu of rebuilding. Later, funds became available: rebuilding is now expected to begin in June 2007, and should be finished by early 2009, making it one of the most modern stadiums in Eastern Europe. Local authorities plan to host a UEFA Cup final after the stadium's opening. The last event hosted by the stadium, before demolition and rebuilding, will be a Rolling Stones concert.
The last football match at the stadium was the international friendly between Romania and Moldova on 7 February 2007, the match ended 2-0 to Romania.
