Gelora Bung Karno Sports Palace (Indonesian: Istana Olahraga Gelora Bung Karno, abbreviated as Istora), (formerly named Istora Senayan between 1969 and 2001) is an indoor arena located in Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, Jakarta, Indonesia. The capacity of the arena after 2018 reopening is 7,166. This arena is usually used for badminton tournaments, especially the BWF tournaments Indonesia Open (1982 - 2024) and Indonesia Masters (since 2018). The first event that held in this arena was the 1961 Thomas Cup.[3]
Gelora Bung Karno Sport Palace | |
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| Former names | Istana Olahraga Senayan (until 24 September 1962, 1969–2001) |
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| Location | Gelora, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta |
| Coordinates | 6°13′13.2″S 106°48′22.5″E / 6.220333°S 106.806250°E |
| Public transit |
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| Owner | Government of Indonesia (via Ministry of State Secretariat) |
| Operator | Pusat Pengelolaan Komplek Gelora Bung Karno (Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Center) |
| Capacity | 7,166[2] Capacity history
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| Field size | 50 by 25 metres (55 by 27 yd) |
| Surface | Wood |
| Scoreboard | Seiko |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 8 February 1960 (entire complex) |
| Opened | 21 May 1961 |
| Renovated | 2016–2018 |
| Closed | 2016–2018 |
| Reopened | 23 January 2018 |
| Construction cost | $12,500,000 (1958, entire complex) Rp132 billion (2016–2018)[1] |
| Architect | Friedrich Silaban |
| Tenants | |
| Indonesia Open (badminton, 1982-2024) Indonesia Masters (badminton, 2018-present) | |
| Website | |
| Website | |
It was also used during the 1962 Asian Games and was renovated to host the 2018 edition. Its first post-renovation event was the 2018 Indonesia Masters. During the latter Games, it hosted the badminton and later stages of basketball events.
The arena originally was planned to stage the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and becoming the only Indonesian venue in the three-country joint bid but was moved to a newly-built arena inside the complex. It hosted the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup instead.
Development
As an architect and civil engineering graduate, Sukarno proposed a sports center location near M. H. Thamrin Boulevard and Menteng (Karet, Pejompongan, or Dukuh Atas) for the 1962 Asian Games. Then he was accompanied by Friedrich Silaban to review the location of the proposed sports complex by helicopter. Silaban disagreed with the selection of Dukuh Atas because he argued the construction of a sports complex in the center the future downtown area will potentially create a massive traffic congestion. Sukarno agreed Silaban recommendation and instead assigned the project to the Senayan area with an area of approximately 300 hectares.[4][5]
The sports complex construction began on 8 February 1960, Istora construction finished on 21 May 1961, in time to host the 1961 Thomas Cup that held in June of that year.
During the New Order era, due to the de-Sukarnoization policy by military junta government under Suharto, the complex was renamed to Gelora Senayan Sports Complex and the Istora was also renamed to Istora Senayan in 1969.[6] However, since January 17, 2001, Indonesian president at the time Abdurrahman Wahid reverted the sports complex name to Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, including the Istora.[7]
Istora had a U-shaped indoor lobby attached on its front since some time after the 1960s to 2016. The court and tribune were surrounded by multi-functional rooms.[8] Those were demolished during the subsequent renovation.[9] The rooms are incorporated underneath the tribune, leaving no other buildings attached to it.
During the latest renovation, there were already some delft blue single seats installed on the mid-section of west and east tribune along with yellow (4 corners) and green (mid-section of north and south tribune) wooden bleachers. Those were scrapped and replaced by single seats, consist of 3 shades of grey. However, to preserve the memory of the old Istora, there are five rows of seat using new all-brown wooden bleachers, placed near Gate 1.
Notable concerts
| Entertainment events at Istora Gelora Bung Karno | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Artist(s) | Tour |
| February 16-18, 1988 | Tina Turner | Break Every Rule World Tour |
| February 11-13, 1992 | New Kids on the Block | The Magic Summer Tour |
| October 17, 1995 | Take That | Nobody Else Tour |
| February 23, 2007 | Muse | Black Holes and Revelations Tour |
| October 20, 2007 | The Black Eyed Peas | Black Blue & You Tour |
| June 2, 2009 | The Pussycat Dolls | Doll Domination Tour |
| August 17, 2009 | The All-American Rejects | I Wanna Rock Tour |
| August 3, 2010 | Slash | 2010 World Tour |
| October 29, 2010 | Simply Red | - |
| January 10, 2011 | N.E.R.D | - |
| January 22, 2011 | Ne-Yo | Libra Scale Tour |
| April 5, 2011 | Bruno Mars | The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour |
| April 27, 2011 | Maroon 5 | Hands All Over Tour |
| January 17, 2012 | Simple Plan | Get Your Heart On! Tour |
| September 20, 2012 | The Wanted | Live in Jakarta |
| October 4 & 5, 2012 | Maroon 5 | Overexposed Tour |
| March 24, 2013 | Demi Lovato | A Special Night with Demi Lovato |
| May 10, 2013 | Sigur Rós | World Tour 2013 |
| March 12, 2014 | Avril Lavigne | The Avril Lavigne Tour |
| December 7, 2014 | JKT48 | Papan Penanda Isi Hati – Message on a Placard Handshake Festival |
| March 28, 2015 | 2PM | Go Crazy World Tour |
| May 22, 2015 | Boyzone | BZ20 Tour |
| March 19, 2016 | JKT48 | Beginner Handshake Festival |
| March 1, 2019 | Kodaline | Politics of Living Tour |
| November 16, 2019 | SEVENTEEN | SEVENTEEN WORLD TOUR : 'ODE TO YOU'[10] |
| March 1, 2020 | NCT Dream | The Dream Show[11] |
| August 6, 2022 | JKT48 | Heaven: 10th Anniversary Concert |
| September 30 & October 1, 2022 | The Script | Greatest Hits Tour 2022[12] |
| December 10, 2022 | Treasure Jun. K Young Tak Zion.T | Saranghaeyo Indonesia 2022[13] |
| January 16, 2024 | Yoasobi | Yoasobi Asia Tour[14] |
Other
- Barbadian singer Rihanna planned to held concerts in Istora as part of her Good Girl Gone Bad Tour, but the concert was cancelled twice, first scheduled for November 14, 2008 due to security concerns as Indonesian government issued travel warning, and second scheduled for February 12, 2009 due to Chris Brown's assault on Rihanna.[15][16]
- During 2020, Due to the coronavirus pandemic that hit Indonesia, Khalid, Rex Orange County, Lauv and Stray Kids were forced to cancel the concert which was scheduled to be held at Istora on March 28, May 9, June 27 and August 15 respectively. The concert that were cancelled was a part of Free Spirit World Tour (Khalid), The Pony Tour (Rex Orange County)[a], How I'm Feeling Tour (Lauv) and District 9: Unlock World Tour (Stray Kids).[17][18][19]
- Finnish band Nightwish planned to held concert in this arena as part of their Human. :II: Nature. World Tour on January 17, 2023, but the concert was cancelled for undisclosed reason.
- English singer-songwriter Morrissey had to cancel his 40 Years of Morrissey tour scheduled for November 22, 2023 due to technical issues.[20]
Notable international sporting events
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- 1961, 1967, 1973, and 1979 Thomas Cups
- 1962 and 2018 Asian Games
- 1975 Uber Cup
- 1980 and 1989 IBF World Championships
- 1986, 1994, 2004, and 2008 Thomas & Uber Cups
- 1989 Sudirman Cup
- 1992 IBF World Junior Championships
- 2015 BWF World Championships
- 2015 World Wushu Championships
- 2018 Asian Para Games
- 2022 FIBA Asia Cup
Gallery
General Nasution, chair of the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS) congratulating General Suharto on his inauguration as Acting President on 12 March 1967 at the Istora.
Istora in January 2008
The front lobby of Istora; it was demolished during 2016–18 renovation
Istora in March 2016
Interior of Istora during the 2018 Indonesia Masters
Istora's new wooden bleachers
See also
Other venues in the complex
Other concert venues in Jakarta
References
Notes
External links
Media related to Istora Gelora Bung Karno at Wikimedia Commons
- Profile on GBK Sports Complex official website Archived 2018-08-16 at the Wayback Machine