In 1953 the Association of Polish Architects held an open contest for the project of an "Olympic Stadium for the city of Warsaw". It was won by the team led by
Jerzy Hryniewiecki,
Zbigniew Ihnatowicz, and
Jerzy Sołtan and later the same year the construction was started. The stadium was constructed mostly with rubble from buildings destroyed during the
Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The project involved the construction of an open air oval-shaped Olympic stadium: it contains a
football pitch and a 400-metre racing track. Theoretically, the terraces with wooden benches provided seats for 71,008 people, but during the biggest festivals organised there, it accommodated more than 100,000 spectators. In addition, the stadium was equipped with a practice field, a small sports dome, 900 parking spaces and was surrounded by a park. The stadium was also connected to a nearby bus station and a railway station opened specifically for the transport of spectators. Soon after its opening, it became Poland's
national stadium. It housed the most important international football matches and athletics competitions, as well as communist party galas, concerts, and commemorative festivals. In addition, it served as the final lap of the
Peace Race. In 1968, it was the site of
Ryszard Siwiec's
self-immolation in protest at the
invasion of Czechoslovakia during a
propaganda festival. In 1983, due to technical problems, the stadium was abandoned. In 1989 it was rented by the City of Warsaw to a company that turned the stadium into an outdoor market known as
Jarmark Europa, which soon became Europe's largest open-air market. With over 5,000 traders (and many more unregistered; a large number of traders were from other countries) it was the biggest facility of its kind in Poland. Official figures state an annual turnover of 500 million
zlotys, which is generally believed to be an underestimate. The top tier of the market included vendors of clothing, souvenirs, and bootlegged CDs and movies. Police say the market was the main selling point for
black market goods in the country. Between 1995 and 2001 more than 25,000 traders were prosecuted, while approximately 10 million infringing CDs and videotapes were confiscated. Amongst the English-speaking community in Warsaw, the stadium was often referred to as the "Russian market". ==New National Stadium==