3416 ITALY (Piedmont) - Superga air disaster

On the afternoon of May 4, 1949, the weather in Turin was miserable: clouds almost touching the ground, showers, strong southwest wind gusts, and very poor horizontal visibility. In these conditions, a three-engined Fiat G.212 of Avio Linee Italiane (Italian Airlines) crashed into the retaining wall at the back of the Basilica of Superga, which stands on a hill on the outskirts of Turin. The impact caused the instantaneous death of all the 31 people on board.

3393 SPAIN (Castile and León) - The Millenium Dome in Valladolid

The Millennium Dome is a space in Valladolid next to the river Pisuerga, with multiple options in regard to the activities that can be held in its interior, such as concerts, conferences, exhibitions, shows and advertising and sports events. It was built by the Barcelona-based architect  Enric Ruiz Geli for Expo Zaragoza 2008, and subsequently acquired by the city of Valladolid as a multipurpose building. This dome covers the pavilion with a surface of almost 1,700 m² and has underground parking for 402 vehicles, a cycle lane and a restaurant.

3289 NORWAY (Oslo) - Holmenkollen

Holmenkollen is a neighborhood in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, the capital city of Norway. In addition to being a residential area, the area has been a ski recreation area since the late 19th century, with its famous ski jumping hill, the Holmenkollbakken, hosting  Holmenkollen Ski Festival since 1892. The hill has been rebuilt 19 times; important upgrades include a stone take-off in 1910, an in-run superstructure in 1914, and a new superstructure in 1928. Between 2008 and 2010, the entire structure was demolished and rebuilt.

3094 GERMANY (Bremen) - An eye-bird view of the city of Bremen

 

 

The city of Bremen lies on both sides of the river, about 60km upstream of its estuary on the North Sea and its transition to the Outer Weser by Bremerhaven. Opposite Bremen's Altstadt (Old Town) is the point where the Middle Weser becomes the Lower Weser and, from the area of Bremen's port, the river has been made navigable to ocean-going vessels. The region on the left bank of the Lower Weser, through which the Ochtum flows, is the Weser Marshes, the landscape on its right bank is part of the Elbe-Weser Triangle.

2461 UNITED STATES (Illinois) - Soldier Field in Chicago

Soldier Field is an American football stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, opened in 1924 as Municipal Grant Park Stadium, and renamed in 1925, as a memorial to U.S. soldiers who had died in combat. Its is best known as the home field of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), who began play there in 1971. Beginning in 2016 it will be the second-oldest stadium in the league when the Los Angeles Rams begin playing temporarily at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which opened a year earlier.

2164 MEXICO (Mexico City) - Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNESCO WHS)

2164 Central University City Campus of the Universidad
Nacional Autónoma de México - Estadio Olímpico
Universitario

The ensemble of buildings, sports facilities and open spaces of the Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), was built in Coyoacán borough in the southern part of Mexico City from 1949 to 1952 by more than 60 architects, engineers and artists who were involved in the project, the main architects being Mario Pani and Enrique del Moral. At the time of its completion it was the largest single construction project in Mexico since the Aztecs.

1999 CANADA (Quebec) - The Olympic Stadium in Montreal

Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, the Olympic Stadium in Montreal is nicknamed "The Big O", a reference to both its name and to the doughnut-shape of the permanent component of the stadium's roof. It is also called "The Big Owe" to reference the astronomical cost of the stadium and the 1976 Olympics as a whole. After the Olympics, artificial turf was installed and it became the home of Montreal's professional baseball and football teams.

1867 RUSSIA (Republic of Tatarstan) - TatNeft Arena in Kazan

Located at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers, Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, and also one of the largest industrial and financial centers of Russia. TatNeft Arena is an indoor sporting arena with a capacity of 10,000, opened in 2005. The arena is home to Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League.

1787 UNITED STATES (Massachusetts) - Baseball at Fenway Park in Boston

Located at 4 Yawkey Way near Kenmore Square, Fenway Park is the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, being the home of the Boston Red Sox team even since it was opened in 1912. Nevertheless, or maybe because of that, is the fourth smallest among MLB ballparks by seating capacity, second smallest by total capacity, and one of eight that cannot accommodate at least 40,000 spectators. The park has been renovated or expanded many times, resulting in quirky features including The Triangle, Pesky's Pole, and the Green Monster in left field.

1543 UNITED STATES (New York) - Yankee Stadium in New York City

 

Yankee Stadium is located in the Bronx, northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, and is the home ballpark for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the home stadium for New York City FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). With a capacity of 52335, it replaced the original stadium, and is placed one block north of the original, on the former site of Macombs Dam Park. Its construction began in August 2006, spanned many years and faced many controversies, including the high public cost and the loss of public parkland. The new stadium, opened on April 2, 2009, is meant to evoke elements of the original Yankee Stadium, both in its original 1923 state and its post-renovation state in 1976.

1381 NETHERLANDS (Netherlands / North Brabant) - Eindhoven in 21th century

Although the written history of Eindhoven, the largest city of North Brabant, started in 1232, many people only know it for the events and achievements from the 20th century. For example, those passionate about history know it due to the Operation Market Garden in the WWII, the football fans because of the club PSV Eindhoven, and businessmen due to the giant Philips. The postcard illustrates very well the image of the city in the 21st century, with several modern buildings.

1211-1214 UNITED STATES (New York) - US Open Tennis Championships

For those who aren't familiar with tennis, US Open is one of the world's most important tennis championships, chronologically the fourth and final tennis major comprising the Grand Slam each year, the other three being the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. It is held annually in late August and early September over a two-week period. The main tournament consists of five event championships: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, with additional tournaments for senior, junior, and wheelchair players. Since 1978, the tournament has been played on acrylic hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at New York City, within Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

The tournament was first held, as national championship, in August 1881 on the grass courts at the Newport Casino (Newport, Rhode Island). In 1915 it was relocated to the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills (New York). The open era began in 1968, when 96 men and 63 women entered the event, and prize money totaled $100,000 (in 2014 reached $36,203,760). It is owned and organized by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), and net proceeds from ticket sales are used to promote the development of tennis in the United States. It is the only Grand Slam tournament that has been played every year since its inception.

 

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where takes place US Open, has 22 courts inside its 46.5 acres and 11 in the adjoining park, and was opened in August, 1978. The complex's three stadia are among the largest tennis stadia in the world. The main court is located at the 22,547-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium, opened in 1997 and named after the African American player who won the men's final of the inaugural US Open in 1968. The next largest court is the Louis Armstrong Stadium, opened in 1978, extensively renovated from the original Singer Bowl. It was the main stadium from 1978 to 1996, and its peak capacity neared 18,000 seats, but was reduced to 10,200 after the opening of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The third largest court is the 6,000-seat Grandstand Stadium, attached to the Louis Armstrong Stadium. In 2011, Court 17 (nicknamed "The Pit") was opened as a fourth show court, with large television screens and electronic line calling which allows player challenges. It initially held 2,500 with temporary stands, but will allow over 3,000 fans after its completion in 2012. Sidecourts 4, 7, and 11 each have a seating capacity of over 1,000. In 2005, all US Open (and US Open Series) tennis courts were given blue inner courts to make it easier to see the ball on television; the outer courts remained green.

1016, 1017, 1045, 1053, 1054, 1065, 1066 RUSSIA (Krasnodar Krai) - Venues of the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics

Posted on 28.02.2014, 05.04.2014, 07.04.2014, 26.04.2014
Located on the Black Sea coast, near the Caucasus Mountains, not far from the border with Georgia / Abkhazia, Greater Sochi area sprawls for 145 kilometers and is Federation's largest resort city, and also one of the very few places in Russia with a subtropical climate. Anyway, Russia conquered this coastline only in 1829, and since 1866, after the Circassian Genocide, the area was actively colonized by Russians, Armenians, Ukrainians, and other people from inner Russia. Sochi was established as a fashionable resort area under Stalin, and following the loss of the popular resorts of the Crimean peninsula in favor of Ukraine, it emerged as the unofficial summer capital of the country. During Putin's term in office, the city witnessed a significant increase in investment, and in 2014 hosted the XXII Olympic Winter Games (7-23 February), the most expensive in history, with a budget of US$51 billion. The events were held around two clusters of new venues: an Olympic Park constructed in Sochi's Imeretinsky Valley on the coast of the Black Sea, and the Games' indoor venues located within walking distance, and snow events in the resort settlement of Krasnaya Polyana.

SOCHI OLYMPIC PARK (Coastal Cluster)
● The Adler Arena Skating Center, an 8,000-seat speed skating oval opened in 2012, looks like an iceberg or ice fault. After the Olympics, it was turned into an exhibition center. A crystal face theme is supported by angular walls and triangular stained-glass windows. The gray and white color of the building enhances this impression. The walls along the sides of the skating rink are made transparent so that spectators can look outside. The skating center is designed to make the utmost use of local natural features.
● The Ice Cube Curling Center is a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena, opened also in 2012. After the games, it remained a sports arena, mainly that this venue is a portable one and may be re-located. It is simplistic in design, which symbolizes democracy, and accessibility alongside the festivity.

● Fisht Olympic Stadium is an open-air stadium with a capacity of 40,000 person, named after Mount Fisht. It served as the Olympic stadium, the venue for their opening and closing ceremonies for the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Designed by Populous and British design consultancy Buro Happold, the stadium's roof was built from approximately 36,500 square metres of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene and was designed to give the roof the appearance of snowy peaks. After the Games, it will serve as a training centre and match venue for the Russia national football team, and will be one of the 11 arenas to host matches in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

● Bolshoy Ice Dome is an indoor sports arena opened in 2012, with a capacity of 12,000. It hosted the ice hockey competition of the 2014 Olympics, serving as the main venue for the men's tournament and hosting the medal matches for the women's tournament. It also hosted both the IIHF World U18 Championships and Channel One Cup in 2013. The arena was designed to resemble a frozen water droplet. It has also drawn comparisons to a Fabergé egg, due to the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) resembling the "jewel-encrusted surface" of the famous Russian art piece. The Ice Dome was subsequently converted into an entertainment centre and concert venue after the Olympics.

KRASNAYA POLYANA (Mountain Cluster)
● The Laura Biathlon & Ski Complex is a skiing venue located on the crests and slopes of Psekhako Ridge, within 6.5-10 km far to the North-Ester of Krasnaya Polyana. The Center includes two isolated stadia, each with their own start and finish zones, two isolated track systems for Skiing and Biathlon, shooting area and warm-up zones. It hosted the biathlon and the cross-country skiing portion of the Nordic combined events. Seating 7500 at both the biathlon and the cross country skiing areas, it was first used in June 2013.

 

● RusSki Gorki Complex is a ski jumping venue located in the Esto-Sadok village, and was host of the ski jumping and the ski jumping part of the Nordic combined event for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Two Olympic jumps of K95 (Calculation (K)-point of 95m and K125 (125m) are constructed for these games with scheduled completion in 2011. Additional hills for youth training of K72 (72m), K45 (45m), and K25 (25m) was constructed with the Olympic hills. It was first used in 2012.

 

GORKI MEDIA CENTER
Located at an altitude of 540m above sea level, the Media Center was set to receive around 4,000 television and radio broadcasters and 500 media representatives from around the world at the highlight of the Games time. The Gorki Media Center with a total area of more than 30,000 sq. m. includes the Mountain Broadcasting Center and Gorki Press Center, and is located in close proximity to media hotels. On its roof are 4 studios and 6 positions for live broadcasts with a stunning view of the Krasnaya Polyana and snow-capped mountains.