Situated at the heart of the Olympiapark München in northern Munich, the stadium was built as the main venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Designed by the German architect Günther Behnisch and the engineer Frei Otto, with the assistance of John Argyris, the lightweight tent construction of the Olympiastadion was considered revolutionary for its time.

The idea was to imitate the Alps skyline and to set a counterpart to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, held during the Nazi regime.

[6] Shortly after World War I, there were first considerations to build a large stadium in Munich, as football gained popularity.

Starting in 1911, the TSV 1860 played on the club's own field at the Grünwalder Straße in Giesing, which became the largest stadium in Munich after it was expanded to a capacity of 40,000 spectators in 1926.

For this reason, the construction of a large stadium on the outskirts of Munich, for example on Oberwiesenfeld, was discussed during the Weimar Republic, but did not yield any particular results.

[7] In the early Nazi Germany, local politicians of the NSDAP planned the construction of a stadium west of Munich-Riem Airport with a capacity of 60,000 to 80,000, mirroring the Reichssportfeld in Berlin.

The postwar period is today considered the "golden age" of football in Germany; only since the 1990s, have so many visitors come to the German stadiums.

[7] The Grünwalder Stadion, which was destroyed in the war, offered space for 50,000 spectators after the renovation, making it the largest stadium in Munich.

The major stadium project came to an end with the adoption of the so-called ten-year program on 10 March 1955 which promoted the construction of district sports facilities.

Munich was the only German city with two Bundesliga clubs, which at this time always played in the top table positions and were temporarily represented in international competitions.

In October 1965, Mayor Hans-Jochen Vogel and Willi Daume, President of the West Germany National Olympic Committee, decided to test the city's suitability for the Games.

After further talks, among others with Federal Chancellor Ludwig Erhard and Bavaria's Prime Minister Alfons Goppel, they came to the conclusion that an application for the 1972 Summer Olympics could be worthwhile.

Due to the proximity to the city center, Munich was able to promote the games with the slogan "Olympia of the short ways", which contributed to the decision-making process.

Since the Oberwiesenfeld had served as a parade ground of the Bavarian cavalry regiment and later mainly military purposes, it was – except for armaments works – free of buildings.

After the World War II, the debris rubble of the bombing of the city was piled up, from which the Olympic Mountain emerged.

The plans were integrated into an overall concept, with the addition of a multi-purpose arena and a swimming pool on a large, concrete surface.

[10] When a model was built at a scale of 1: 1000, the employee Cordel Wehrse came up with the idea of laying a tent roof construction over the three buildings.

However, the juror Egon Eiermann intervened and campaigned together with Mayor Hans-Jochen Vogel and NOK President Willi Daume, among others, for the model.

According to Behnisch, the stadium was to be a "democratic sports venue" according to the ideas of the Mayor of Munich Hans-Jochen Vogel and the specifications of the Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt, creating a contrast to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin during the period of National Socialism, the hitherto single summer Olympics in Germany.

In addition to Behnisch and Otto, an architect team was also formed to realize the roof construction, including Fritz Leonhardt and Wolf Andrä.

Plans to cover an additional 15,000 seats in the eastern stands of the stadium - for the Olympic Games, respectively the football World Cup 1974 in West Germany - with a separate tent roof were initially developed by Behnisch and his architectural team from 1964 to 1967.

The stadium is property of the Olympiapark München GmbH, a society wholly owned by the City of Munich's Referat für Arbeit und Wirtschaft.

The individual sprint events, held at 1100 m, were won by Norway's Marit Bjørgen (women) and Switzerland's Christoph Eigenmann (men).

On 23 to 24 June 2007, the stadium was host to the Spar European Cup 2007, a yearly athletics event featuring the top 8 countries from around Europe.

[14] On 17 May 2012, the ground played host to the 2012 UEFA Women's Champions League Final in which Olympique Lyonnais won their second consecutive trophy.

On 19 May 2012 it hosted the "Public Viewing" of the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final which took place at Allianz Arena in Munich.

On 10 October 2020, after more than eight years, Olympiastadion was due to host a professional football match of Türkgücü München against SV Wehen Wiesbaden.

American rock band Guns N' Roses filmed parts of their Estranged video there when they visited Munich in June 1993.

In 2021, the stadium was visited during the fourth episode of the ninth season of Belgian reality series De Mol for a football-themed assignment.