Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex

Indonesian sports venue From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bung Karno Sports Complex (Indonesian: Gelanggang Olahraga Bung Karno), better known as Gelora Bung Karno; formerly named the Asian Games Complex (Indonesian: Kompleks Asian Games) and the Senayan Sports Complex (Indonesian: Kompleks Olahraga Senayan) from 1969 to 2001, is a sports complex located in Gelora, Central Jakarta, bordering the Senayan, South Jakarta because of its large location. This sports complex consists of a main stadium, secondary stadium, two main indoor gymnasiums known as the Sports Palace (Istora) and the Indonesia Arena, football fields, aquatic stadium, tennis stadiums (indoor and outdoor), hockey, baseball and archery fields, and other gymnasiums.

Full nameGelanggang Olahraga Bung Karno
Former namesAsian Games Complex (until 24 September 1962)
Gelanggang Olahraga Senayan (1969 – 17 January 2001)
Coordinates6°13′6.88″S 106°48′9.04″E
Quick facts Full name, Former names ...
Bung Karno Sports Complex
Gelanggang Olahraga Bung Karno
The main stadium complex in 2023
Interactive map of Bung Karno Sports Complex
Full nameGelanggang Olahraga Bung Karno
Former namesAsian Games Complex (until 24 September 1962)
Gelanggang Olahraga Senayan (1969 – 17 January 2001)
LocationGelora, Central Jakarta, Indonesia
Coordinates6°13′6.88″S 106°48′9.04″E
OwnerGovernment of Indonesia[a]
OperatorPusat Pengelolaan Komplek Gelora Bung Karno (PPKGBK, Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Center)
Main venueGelora Bung Karno Main Stadium
Capacity: 77,193[1]
FacilitiesMadya Stadium
Aquatic Stadium
Sports Palace
Indonesia Arena
Tennis Indoor
Tennis Outdoor
Baseball Stadium
Softball Field
Rugby Field
Archery Field
Squash Stadium
Public transit
Construction
Broke ground8 February 1960
Built1960–1962
Opened1961–1962
Renovated2016–2018
Closed2016–2018
Reopened2018
Construction cost$12,500,000 (1958)
Rp3,5 trillion (renovation)
Website
gbk.id
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Originally built with substantial Soviet assistance, this sports complex was a brain child of Sukarno, the first President of Indonesia, in order to host the 1962 Asian Games. It was built in 1960, and underwent major renovation for the 2018 Asian Games and Asian Para Games.

History

After the Asian Games Federation declared Jakarta to host the 1962 Asian Games in 1958, the minimum requirement that was yet to be met by Jakarta was the availability of a multi-sport complex. In response to this, President Sukarno issued Presidential Decree No. 113/1959 dated 11 May 1959 about the establishment of the Asian Games Council of Indonesia (DAGI) led by Minister of Sports Maladi. Sukarno, as an architect and civil engineering graduate, proposed a location near M. H. Thamrin Boulevard and Menteng, namely the area of Karet, Pejompongan, or Dukuh Atas. Friedrich Silaban, a renowned architect who accompanied Sukarno to review the location by helicopter, disagreed with the selection of Dukuh Atas because he argued the construction of a sports complex in the center of the future downtown area will potentially create massive traffic congestion. Sukarno agreed and instead assigned the Senayan area with an area of approximately 300 hectares.[2]

The first pole erection was done symbolically by Sukarno and Soviet First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan on 8 February 1960.[3] Construction of Istora was completed in May 1961. The secondary stadium, Swimming Stadium, and Tennis Stadium followed in December 1961. The main stadium was completed on 21 July 1962, a month before the games.[4]

Jakarta residents exercise near the Gelora Bung Karno main stadium

The sports complex hosts a main stadium with a capacity of 77,193 seats,[1] athletic stadium, football fields, aquatic stadium, tennis stadiums (indoor and outdoor), hockey, baseball and archery fields, and several indoor gymnasiums.[5] Built over 279 hectares of land, it is the largest sports complex in Indonesia.[6] The Gelora Bung Karno Stadium is the main building within this sports complex. The abbreviation Gelora also means "vigorous" (like the flame or ocean wave) in the Indonesian language. Other than hosting several sports facilities, the sports complex is also a popular place for people of Jakarta to do physical exercises; jogging, bicycling, aerobics, and calisthenics, especially during the weekend.

On 29 April 2025, the Indonesian sovereign wealth fund agency, Danantara, planned to take over the management of the GBK complex from the current manager, Ministry of State Secretariat. Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani stated that the complex has a well prospect as "one of the largest state assets, but still limited in utilization and return on investment."[7]

Sporting events

The map of the GBK during the 2018 Asian Games

For the first time, the sports complex was host fourth Asian Games in 1962. The main stadium hosted the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Other competitions held there were several AFF Championship finals and domestic cup finals. The Istora hosted numbers of BWF World Championships, Sudirman Cup, Thomas Cup and Uber Cup badminton competitions. The tennis stadium hosted most of Indonesia's home matches at the Davis Cup and Fed Cup.

The sports complex hosted multi-event sport such as Pekan Olahraga Nasional (PON, National Sports Week) and Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games). The complex hosted the PON seven times between 1973 and 1996. The complex hosted the SEA Games in 1979, 1987, 1997 and 2011; the latter was co-hosted with Jakabaring Sport City complex in Palembang. It also hosted 2018 Asian Games along with Palembang's complex and some other venues across Palembang, Banten, Greater Jakarta and West Java, while it served only with other venues across Greater Jakarta and West Java during the subsequent Para Games.

The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was held at a new 17,150 seater arena within the sports complex known as Indonesia Arena; Indonesia was the co-host along with Japan and the Philippines. In 2025, Indonesia Arena hosted the 53rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

Facilities

The main stadium
Exterior of the Istora during the 2018 Asian Games
Gelora Bung Karno Aquatic Stadium. The 2016–17 renovation introduced a new, wave-shaped roof above the arena which originally only had roofs at the tribune.
Photo of the Gelora Bung Karno Softball Field taken from the nearby shopping mall fX Sudirman
Exterior of the Indonesia Arena
Madya, Tennis Indoor, and Tennis Outdoor arenas
The 2018 Asian Games cauldron in the southeast of the complex

Sports venues

More information Venue, Purpose ...
Venue Purpose Capacity Built Notes Tenants
Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium Multi-use, mostly football 77,193[1] 1960 Largest stadium in Indonesia (1962–2022) Indonesia national football team
Istora Gelora Bung Karno Multi-use, mostly badminton 7,166[8] 1960 Indonesia Open (badminton) and Indonesia Masters
Gelora Bung Karno Aquatic Stadium Aquatic sports 7,800[9] 1960 Formerly named "Swimming Stadium"
Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Indoor Stadium Multi-use, mostly volleyball and concerts 3,750[10] 1993 First sports arena in Southeast Asia to use retractable roof, it is no longer operable.
Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Outdoor Stadium (Center Court) Tennis 3,800[11] 1960
Gelora Bung Karno Madya Stadium Athletics and football 9,170[12] 1960
Gelora Bung Karno Basketball Hall Basketball 2,400[13] 1960
Gelora Bung Karno Baseball Field Baseball 1,320[14] 2016 Built on site of 12 tennis clay courts and 6 tennis hard courts
Gelora Bung Karno Hockey Field Field Hockey 818[15] 1973
Gelora Bung Karno Softball Field Softball ≈500[16] 1996 Also called Lapangan Softball Pintu Satu (Gate One Softball Field) to distinguish it with the nearby, now-demolished Cemaratiga Softball Field.
Can be upgraded with temporary seats to 2,000 capacity.
Gelora Bung Karno Archery Field Archery 97[17] 1973
Gelora Bung Karno Rugby Field Rugby N/A 2017 Built on the site of Lapangan D (D Football Field)
Shooting range Shooting N/A 1992 New location. Mulia Hotel now stands in the original site.
GBK Arena Multi-sports training halls N/A 2016 Located outside the main complex on the west, built on the site of Asia Afrika Sports Hall, a badminton training hall (originally completed in 1986)
Volleyball Training Hall Volleyball training N/A 1988
A, B, and C Football Field Football training N/A 1970
Gateball Court Gateball N/A 2017
Beach Volleyball Court Beach volleyball N/A 1996
Gelora Bung Karno Squash Stadium Squash 560[18] 1996 Also called D Hall (Indonesian: Hall D)
Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Court Tennis N/A 1993 Two hard courts
Indonesia Arena Multi-use 16,500 2023 During construction known as the "Indoor Multifunction Stadium"; held the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Indonesia men's national basketball team
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Other buildings

Other buildings inside the complex

Initially, the sports complex covers a much larger area than it is today. During the 1980s to 1990s, several land plots were developed into non-sport facilities. The northern area was developed into government offices while the southern area was developed into hotels and shopping malls. The complex also had a radio-controlled car circuit northwest of the main stadium, which was scrapped during the 2017 renovation.

Northern area

  • DPR/MPR (Parliament) Building (completed 1968)
  • TVRI Studios and National Headquarters Building (completed 1962)
  • Ministry of Youth and Sports Building (completed 1983)
  • National Forestry Museum (Manggala Wanabakti, formerly Ministry of Forestry office, completed 1983)
  • Senayan Park (completed 2020, stands on the former site of Taman Ria Senayan)

Southern area

The southern area was originally an athlete village for the 1962 Asian Games. The village was demolished in the 1970s. Several buildings now stood in their location.

Demolished buildings or facilities

  • Remote controlled-car racing circuit
  • Asia Afrika Sports Hall
  • Volleyball Arena that was used during the 1962 Asian Games
  • 18 tennis courts located southern of the tennis stadiums.
  • Roller sports court
  • Gymnastics Building
  • Cemaratiga Softball Field
  • Senayan Golf Range
  • Street Dirt Senayan

Entertainment events

Main Stadium

Istora

Indonesia Arena

Madya Stadium

Tennis Indoor/Outdoor

2000 - 2019

More information Date, Artists ...
Date Artists Events
9 March 2009 Lamb of God Wrath Tour
29 April 2010 Kelly Clarkson All I Ever Wanted Tour
28 September 2012 Keane Strangeland Tour
3 November 2012 Wonder Girls Wonder World Tour
27 May 2013 Carly Rae Jepsen The Summer Kiss Tour
19 October 2013 CNBLUE Blue Moon World Tour
14 February 2015 Taeyang Rise World Tour
18 November 2018 iKon iKon 2018 Continue Tour
24 March 2019 Boyzone Thank You & Goodnight Tour
13 August 2019 LANY Malibu Nights World Tour
14 August 2019
30 November 2019 Day6 Gravity World Tour
1 December 2019
28 December 2019 IU Love, Poem
29 December 2019
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2020 - present

More information Date, Artists ...
Date Artists Events
19 January 2020 Bon Iver I, I Tour
14 July 2022 Louis Tomlinson Louis Tomlinson World Tour
4 February 2023 Itzy Checkmate World Tour
23 April 2024 Incubus Asia Tour 2024[20]
30 April 2024 All Time Low Forever
26 May 2024 Eve Eve Asia Tour 2024 "Culture"[21]
8 June 2024 BabyMonster BABYMONSTER PRESENTS: SEE YOU THERE[22]
10 August 2024 Suho WELCOME TO SU:HOME[23]
13 November 2024 Take That THIS LIFE ON TOUR[24]
18 January 2025 Infinite Infinite 15th Anniversary Concert: Limited Edition[25]
31 May 2025 NCT Wish NCT WISH LOGIN SEOUL-ASIA[26]
14 June 2025 Kai KAI SOLO CONCERT TOUR <KAION>
12 November 2025 Hatsune Miku Miku Expo 2025 Asia
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Basketball Hall

More information Date, Artists ...
Date Artists Events
28 November 2022 Keshi Hell/Heaven Tour[27]
29 November 2022
23 November 2023 D4vd Petals to Thorns Tour[28]
6 July 2024 Lisa LiVE is Smile Always Asia Tour 2024[29]
28 June 2025 STAYC 2025 STAYC TOUR STAYTUNED
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Notes

References

Bibliography

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