Great athletes like the legendary Abebe Bikila and Haile Gebrselassie have competed at the stadium.

Between 30 April and 4 May 2008, Addis Ababa Stadium hosted the 16th African Athletics Championships.

LAVA, DESIGNSPORT and local Ethiopian firm JDAW won the international competition held by the Federal Sport Commission, Ethiopia to design the stadium and sports village.

The design combines local identity, such as rock cut architecture and the massob basket,[4] with new technology.

Main colonial governors: Agenore Frangipani; Guglielmo Nasi; Enrico Cerulli; Pietro Gazzera; Luigi Frusci; Alessandro Pirzio Biroli