Inside the iconic Euro 2024 final host stadium built in 1934 that underwent a stunning £208m renovation - and could be the venue where England make history

Berlin's Olympiastadion will host the finale of Euro 2024 on Sunday when England face tournament favourites Spain.

Gareth Southgate has led the Three Lions to back-to-back Euros finals and three years on from their Wembley heartbreak against Italy, they once again have the chance to become European champions for the first time.

Their opponents Spain, however, will be looking to create history of their own as they are hoping to win a record fourth title. 

History will be made regardless of Sunday's outcome, marking another chapter for a stadium that is already enriched in history.

Here Mail Sport takes a look at the complicated and long history of Berlin's Olympiastadion, which can be traced all the way back to 1900's and was used for the world's most infamous sporting event turned propaganda ploy - the 1936 Olympics.

Current state

The Olympiastadion can seat 74,475 and is part of the enormous Olympia park theatre, which also includes a 25,000 open air amphitheater, a large track field known as Maifeld, an Olympic size swimming pool and also the original Olympic bell used in the 1936 Olympics.

The stadium is home to German second-tier side Hertha BSC football club and has also been the venue for every German Cup final since 1985.

The iconic venue staged the opening game of the Women's World Cup in 2011 and the men's UEFA Champions League final back in 2015.

The stadium also played host to the memorable 2006 World Cup final between France and Italy, which saw Zinedine Zidane headbutt Marco Materazzi, as well as Usain Bolt's world record breaking run in 2009.

Origins and History

The grounds where the Olympiastadion stands today has been the epicentre of sporting events in Germany since 1912.

Excavation works began in August 1912, as plans for the National Stadium - Deutsches Stadion, also known as the Grunewaldstadion - got underway.

The stadium featured 11,500 seats with the addition of a standing area suitable for another 18,500. A swimming stadium was also build beside it, which had a capacity of a further 3,000. 

After just 200 days of construction, the stadium opened on May 15, 1913. Since the stadium's inauguration, the venue quickly became the centre of German sports as it prepared to host the 1916 Olympic Games.

The Olympic dream however faded rather quickly when Europe suddenly found themselves engulfed in World War I. 

On July 26, 1914 the stadium closed and began serving as a military hospital instead. 

The Nazi era 

Berlin won the bid to host the 1936 Olympic games in 1931. The plan was to still expand the Olympic Stadium, however that soon changed when Adolf Hitler was made Chancellor.

Hitler toured the Deutsches Stadion and once he had realised what little progress had been made to the stadium, he ordered it be demolished to make way for a new construction.  

Hitler's decision to reconstruct the stadium came down to multiple factors including creating job opportunities to tackle Germany's unemployment crisis at the time but it ultimately was because he saw it as a way to expand the propaganda for the Nazi regime. 

Werner March was chosen as the arhitect to turn Hitler's vision into a reality. He created a neoclassical design completed with 136 limestone-clad pillars which were designed to reflect characteristics of ancient Greek architecture. 

Whilst on the inside of the stadium, March built a balcony for Hitler which is still standing to this day.

At the time of completion and ahead of the 1936 Olympics, the stadium now called the Reichssportfeld was the largest sporting complex in the world.  

The birth of the Olympiastadion 

After Germany lost World War II British troops occupied the premises of the stadium. But over the coming years, parts of the Reichssportfeld were gradually given back to the Germans.

In 1949, the stadium was handed over to the Germans and exactly a year later the stadium was renamed the Olympiastadion by the Berlin senate. 

Remodel 

Following World War II and the Battle of Berlin, the Olympiastadion required a major remodel in the 1990s when Germany bid to host the 2006 World Cup.

Although the stadium needed a complete revamp, demolishing the Olympiastadion was not an option like it was back in 1936.

This was because the stadium was put under monument protection in 1966, leading to a four-year long renovation of the standing stadium instead.

The cost of the renovation and modernisation of the the stadium amounted to a staggering £208million, which was mostly financed by the Federal Republic of Germany.

The reconstruction of the stadium was split into 19 sectors, with renovations starting on the North East. The upper ring was left primarily untouched but the lower rings needed to be completely reconstructed.

Changes to the lower ring involved the lowering of the infield by 2.65 metres in order to make room for a further two rows of seating. 

The inner gallery, located between the higher and lower rings, saw the inclusion of the majority of the new 76 VIP boxes added.   

The most notable change to the stadium was the addition of the unique horseshoe style roof, which had some of the most advanced lighting technology and audio systems.

Despite the extensive remodel, the stadium did not need to close for the construction, since the rebuild was carried out in sections.