VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Gelora Bung Karno National Stadium preened to face the Asian Games 2018. After undergoing renovation since August 2016, finally President Joko Widodo inaugurated the new face of Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Senayan, Jakarta, Sunday (14/1/2018), seven months before the Asian Games 2018 is  held.

Gelora Bung Karno National Stadium was built in the era of President Soekarno in 1961 and is part of the Bung Karno Sports Center complex. The stadium is usually used as an arena of international football matches. The name Bung Karno was given to honor Sukarno, the first President of the Republic of Indonesia, who sparked the idea of ​​building this sports complex. In the New Order era, precisely in 1984, the name of the stadium was changed to Senayan National Stadium. In the era of Reform in 2001, it was restored to Gelora Bung Karno National Stadium again .

Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium now appears  more elegant with blinking red  and  white light on the outside. No more elongated seats. Currently, the stands are converted into single seaters and can be folded or flipped up and have  met the evacuation accessibility standard. Each seat can withstand loads of up to 250 kilograms and can not easily be moved or pulled out  to prevent vandalism. This  change reduced the stadium's capacity from  90,000 to over 76,000 seats.

In terms of lighting, Gelora Bung Karno Stadium is one of the best in the world. The stadium lighting system is also integrated with a powerful sound system. The grasscovering the  field surface is  of the best kind, the zoysia matrella,  equipped with an automatic sprinkler and a flood anticipation   drainage system.

Changes and luxuries of Gelora Bung Karno National Stadium at this time deserve to be the  proud of Indonesia. Moreover, many  have praised that the Bung Karno Stadium is one of the largest and most grand stadiums in the world. However, the grandeur and luxury of a Sports Stadium is not enough if not followed by good maintenance and improved performance of the athletes . What is the use of  having  a magnificent stadium without being offset by  sporting achievements?May the luxury and splendor of Bung Karno National Stadium at this time can spur the Indonesian athletes to improve their performance ahead of the grand event of Asian Games August 2018 and other international sporting events. So Indonesia is not only proud because it has a magnificent and luxurious Sports Stadium, but also  great sports achievements.