out on 31 July 2004, and 1 August 2004. On that day, Saturday, the party began with performances from Pink, Nena and Daniel Barenboim. It culminated at night with the opening ceremony. On day two, friendly matches were played between different categories of the club Hertha BSC and visiting teams. On 8 September 2004, Brazil played Germany. From 2003 to 2007, the stadium was home to the Berlin Thunder. In 2011, the venue hosted the World Culture Festival organized by the Art of Living where 70,000 people meditated for peace. In 2018, the venue hosted the 2018 European Athletics Championships. Renovation With the intention of creating a more intimate atmosphere for football games, the playing field was lowered by . Approximately of sand was excavated. The lower tier of seating in the stadium was demolished and rebuilt at a completely different angle of inclination. The roof was extended to cover a total of , with 20 roof-supporting columns carrying a weight of of steel. The roof rises over the seats and is made up of transparent panels that allow sunlight to stream in during the day. The western portion (on the Marathon Arch) is open to reveal the Bell Tower to the spectators. The conservation factor of the Olympiastadion as a historical monument was also considered, especially with respect to the preservation of the natural stone blocks. After criticisms, the colour of the athletics track around the game field was changed from red to blue, reflecting the colours of Hertha BSC. The renovations used of concrete and of pre-cast reinforced concrete elements. Some of concrete was demolished and removed and of natural stone was refurbished. The Olympiastadion was equipped with the latest technology in artificial illumination and sound equipment. It has 113 VIP stands, a set of restaurants, and two underground garages (for 630 cars). The total cost of the remodelling and amplification was €242 million. Capacity The new Olympic Stadium has the highest all-seated capacity in Germany. It has a permanent capacity of 74,475 seats. The upper tier has 31 seating rows at an average slope of 23° and houses 36,455 seats, of which 36,032 are regular seats, 290 are seats on the press stand and 133 are seats in skyboxes. The lower tier has 42 seating rows at an average angle of 25,4° and houses 38,020 seats, of which 32,310 are regular seats, 560 are box seats, 563