Stadion Utama Gelora Bung Karno or Bung Karno Main Stadium is a sport center complex located in South Jakarta. This multi-use stadium is named after Soekarno, Indonesia’s first President. The stadium is mostly used for football matches and it has a capacity of over 80 thousand seat.

Bung Karno Main Stadium has a unique political history. In 1956 Bung Karno made an official visit to the former Soviet Union. Bung Karno delivered ​​a speech at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, in front of hundreds of thousands of Moscow residents. His speech at the Luzhniki Stadium made Bung Karno desire in building a similar stadium Jakarta. He then decided to build such a stadium with a budget from the former Soviet Union, which amounted to USD 12.5 million that was disbursed in 1958. A Russian news agency, RIA Novosti, at the time claimed that the construction of the Bung Karno Main Stadium involved architects and builders from the Soviet Union.

Construction of the stadium began on February 8, 1960 and finished on July 21, 1962 in time to host the fourth Asian Games that was held in Jakarta. The stadium’s original capacity was 100,800 seats, which was reduced to the current 88,083 seats as a result of renovations for the 2007 Asian Cup. The main stadium is divided into 24 sectors and 12 entrances, and into upper and lower stands. The special feature of this stadium is the huge steel roof construction that forms a gigantic ring called temu gelang, or joined ring in English.

In public holidays, there are usually quite a lot of people jogging in the morning or late afternoon on the surrounded premises of Bung Karno Main Stadium. In addition, around Bung Karno Main Stadium you can see the food stalls that sell a wide variety of foods and drinks.

How to get here (see the route map):

From Juanda / Gondangdia / Cikini go to platform 2 and take the Red Line/Blue Line heading to Bekasi/Depok/Bogor and stop at Manggarai. Go to platform 5 and take the Yellow Line heading to Angke/Jatinegara and stop at Tanah Abang. Go to Platform 5/6 and take the Green Line heading to Serpong/Parung Panjang/Maja/Rangkasbitung and stop at Palmerah. Take 24-minute walk to the southern direction.

From Tanah Abang go to Platform 5/6 and take the Green Line heading to Serpong/Parung Panjang/Maja/Rangkasbitung and stop at Palmerah. Take 24-minute walk to the southern direction.

From Sudirman go to platform 1 and take the Yellow Line heading to Angke/Jatinegara and stop at Tanah Abang. Go to Platform 5/6 and take the Green Line heading to Serpong/Parung Panjang/Maja/Rangkasbitung and stop at Palmerah. Take 24-minute walk to the southern direction.

For a map illustration, click here or see the map below.