The  Amsterdam Olympic Stadium, built for the 1928 Summer Games – the only time the Olympics were held in the Netherlands – has long been a landmark of sporting and architectural history.

Now, visitors can experience its rich heritage in a brand-new way with the Imagineear multimedia tour, which combines storytelling, quizzes, video clips, and archival photographs to bring nearly a century of history to life.

The tour begins just outside the stadium walls, overlooking Stadionplein, before turning to the 46-meter-tall Marathon Tower, a striking symbol of modern Amsterdam in the 1920s. It was here that, for the first time, the Olympic flame burned continuously throughout the Games, a tradition that continues to this day.

Visitors learn about architect Jan Wils and his vision for the stadium, a design that blends harmoniously with its surroundings, as well as the story behind Amsterdam’s successful Olympic bid. As we walk inside the stadium grounds, the tour dives into the 1928 Games themselves, which drew nearly 670,000 paying spectators. These Games also marked a milestone in women’s participation in gymnastics and athletics, with 274 women competing from across the globe.

After the Olympics, the stadium quickly became a hub for Dutch sport. From 1930 to 1996, it served as Ajax football club’s main venue for many of their matches, it is where Johan Cruijff played some of his most memorable matches. That legacy remains alive today — the roofed interior sections of the stadium have since been converted into offices, one of which now houses the Johan Cruijff Foundation.

But the story doesn’t end there. Over the decades, the stadium has hosted countless sports and cultural events. Highlights include the start of the Tour de France in Amsterdam in 1954 (the first time it began outside of France), 77 international matches of the Dutch national football team, and concerts, like performances by Leonard Cohen. The tour also shares the complex and sometimes difficult chapters of the stadium’s past, including hidden spaces used by Dutch citizens avoiding forced labor during World War II and the commemoration of the four female Jewish gymnasts from 1928 who were tragically murdered during WW2. Today, the stadium continues to support athletes, including local clubs, the HERA women’s football team, and Olympic champions, while embracing sustainability and inclusivity.

As Rifka Boot, Communication Manager at the stadium, explains: “The multimedia tour offers a wonderful glimpse into the rich history of our stadium. With a touch of humor along the way, you’ll not only experience the highlights but also discover surprising facts and stories you probably didn’t know before.”

With the slogan “A Playground for Progress”, the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium continues to inspire visitors, blending sporting history and culture. Thanks to Imagineear’s multimedia  tour, everyone can now step inside this living piece of history and experience its stories firsthand.