Two men clean the seats at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium before the kick-off of the 12th Asian Cup of football on Aug. 6, 2000, in Beirut. (Credit: AFP archive photo)
On Oct. 12, 1957, Lebanon was buzzing with excitement as it prepared to inaugurate the Arab world’s first sports city and host the second Pan Arab Games. That day, the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium welcomed more than 80,000 spectators. The festivities took place in the presence of then-Lebanese President Camille Chamoun and Saudi King Saud bin Abdul Aziz. The program featured the release of pigeons, folkloric dances by 540 women, judo exhibitions by the Lebanese Army and members of the Jordanian band, and a dazzling fireworks display, according to L’Orient at the time. The event also included a parade of 1,350 athletes representing Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco and Kuwait.In its 68 years, the stadium has endured 15 years of civil war, an Israeli invasion and reconstruction in the 1990s. Today,...
On Oct. 12, 1957, Lebanon was buzzing with excitement as it prepared to inaugurate the Arab world’s first sports city and host the second Pan Arab Games. That day, the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium welcomed more than 80,000 spectators. The festivities took place in the presence of then-Lebanese President Camille Chamoun and Saudi King Saud bin Abdul Aziz. The program featured the release of pigeons, folkloric dances by 540 women, judo exhibitions by the Lebanese Army and members of the Jordanian band, and a dazzling fireworks display, according to L’Orient at the time. The event also included a parade of 1,350 athletes representing Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco and Kuwait.In its 68 years, the stadium has endured 15 years of civil war, an Israeli invasion and reconstruction in the 1990s....