Atatürk Olympic Stadium — Istanbul, Turkey

Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadı was built for an Olympic Games that Istanbul never got. The bid failed; the stadium opened anyway, in 2002, and turned into something arguably more useful — the largest ground in Turkey and among the largest anywhere in Europe, the venue the country puts forward whenever an occasion needs to be televised worldwide.

Capacity runs to roughly 75,000 for football, and higher again when a stage goes up on the pitch and the floor opens. UEFA classifies it in the top category, which is how it came to host the Champions League Final twice — in 2005, the night Liverpool came back from three down, and again in 2023.

Concert layouts combine the tiered bowl with standing room on the pitch in front of the stage. The bowl is wide rather than steep, so even the far tiers keep a usable view of what is happening at the front.

The ground stands in İkitelli, part of the Başakşehir district on Istanbul's European side — some 25 kilometres northwest of Sultanahmet and Taksim, and noticeably nearer to Istanbul Airport than to anything a visitor would recognise as the city centre. Distance is the first thing to plan around here.

What is around it is housing and light industry, with the stadium sitting on its own large plot. That separation from the dense centre is a genuine advantage on a big night: the crowd is not fighting the whole of Istanbul for the same streets. The corollary is that nobody walks here. Every arrival is a journey from a hotel or from the centre, and it needs to be treated as one.

Late spring through summer, Istanbul is warm with long evenings, and shows start once the sun is down and the temperature has eased. The open bowl catches wind after dark more than the daytime heat suggests, so something light to put on is worth carrying even in July.

Twenty-five kilometres of Istanbul lie between the centre and the gates, and on an event day those kilometres behave badly. Decide the route before you leave, not while standing on a kerb watching traffic.

Transport options:

• Metro — the M3 on the European side is the one option that ignores surface traffic entirely, and on that basis it is the recommendation. Trains are frequent; the last stretch to the gates is a connection or a short taxi ride
• Taxi and rideshare — yellow taxis work everywhere, and BiTaksi and Uber both operate in the city. Have the Turkish name ready — Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadı — since the English version is not always recognised. Budget generously: an event evening can double the journey time
• Hotel transfer — for the larger shows, central hotels frequently organise private cars out to the stadium. Worth asking the desk when you book rather than on the day
• Driving — the O-1 and O-3 both reach it, and car parks open around the ground on event days. The problem is not arriving but leaving

Ninety minutes ahead of the headline set is the right target — screening and scanning at a 75,000-capacity ground are not quick, and finding a section in an unfamiliar bowl takes longer than expected. On the way out, twenty or thirty minutes spent in your seat rather than in the crush is usually time saved rather than lost.

The building was designed for finals, and it carries the infrastructure that implies. Seating runs continuously around the pitch across lower, middle and upper tiers, each giving a different trade between height and proximity. For a concert, the sections facing the stage and the pitch floor in front of it are the close view; the upper tier is the one that shows you the scale of the thing.

Concessions and merchandise operate along the concourses throughout. Cards work in most places, but Turkish lira in cash is genuinely useful at the smaller stands — more so than at comparable European grounds. Restrooms are distributed around the ring rather than grouped, which matters at this capacity.

Entry screening is the international standard. Professional cameras, large bags, outside food and drink and anything throwable will be stopped. The specific list is set per event, so check the event page before you set out rather than relying on a previous visit.

Set times, supports and anything unusual about the night are published as the date approaches — upcoming events has the current detail for Istanbul.

Nobody should fly to Istanbul for a single evening. The city sits across two continents and holds enough to fill a week without effort. Visitors generally base themselves in Beyoğlu for the nightlife, Sultanahmet for the monuments, or Kadıköy across the water on the Asian side for something less touristed — all three connect to the transport that eventually reaches the stadium.

The obvious additions to a trip are obvious for good reason: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapı Palace, the Grand Bazaar. Less obvious and arguably better is simply taking a Bosphorus ferry from one continent to the other for the price of a bus fare. An Istanbulkart covers metro, tram, funicular and ferry alike, and buying one on arrival saves repeated fumbling for change.

Entry rules depend on your passport. A good number of nationalities enter Turkey without a visa; others need an e-Visa, which is issued online in advance and takes minutes. Check the official Turkish e-Visa portal for your own country before you book flights.

Ordering and delivery are covered on the FAQ page. For the rest of the calendar, see upcoming concerts and sporting events here and at other venues.