Thursday 20th December 2018

National Olympic Stadium

Monireth Boulevard

Phnom Penh

Cambodia

I don’t normally bother visiting a stadium if there is no match taking place, but as I am probably unlikely to be in Cambodia again and it was just a five minute ride in a Tuk Tuk (local moped drawn carriage that operates instead of taxis) from our hotel, then I thought I might as well pop along and have a look.

The stadium is the main focal point of the National Sports Complex, opening in 1964, when the capacity was around 70,000. Nowadays, it reputedly holds 50,000. Despite the name, it has never hosted the Olympic Games.

During the dark days of the Pol Pot regime of the 1970’s, the stadium was used as an execution site where officials of the Khmer Republic, formerly led by Lon Noi were killed.

Cambodia are due to host the 2023 Southeast Asia Games, but the current stadium will not be hosting matches, as instead, a new stadium will be built in another part of the city.