Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex

History

After the Asian Games Federation declared Jakarta to host the 1962 Asian Games in 1958, the minimum requirement that was yet to be met by Jakarta was the availability of a multi-sport complex. In response to this, President Sukarno issued Presidential Decree No. 113/1959 dated 11 May 1959 about the establishment of the Asian Games Council of Indonesia (DAGI) led by Minister of Sports Maladi. Sukarno, as an architect and civil engineering graduate, proposed a location near M. H. Thamrin Boulevard and Menteng, namely the area of Karet, Pejompongan, or Dukuh Atas. Friedrich Silaban, a renowned architect who accompanied Sukarno to review the location by helicopter, disagreed with the selection of Dukuh Atas because he argued the construction of a sports complex in the center of the future downtown area will potentially create massive traffic congestion. Sukarno agreed and instead assigned the Senayan area with an area of approximately 300 hectares.

The first pole erection was done symbolically by Sukarno and Soviet First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan on 8 February 1960. Construction of Istora was completed in May 1961. The secondary stadium, Swimming Stadium, and Tennis Stadium followed in December 1961. The main stadium was completed on 21 July 1962, a month before the games.

The sports complex hosts a main stadium with a capacity of 77,193 seats, athletic stadium, football fields, aquatic stadium, tennis stadiums (indoor and outdoor), hockey, baseball and archery fields, and several indoor gymnasiums. Built over 279 hectares of land, it is the largest sports complex in Indonesia. The Gelora Bung Karno Stadium is the main building within this sports complex. The abbreviation Gelora also means "vigorous" (like the flame or ocean wave) in the Indonesian language. Other than hosting several sports facilities, the sports complex is also a popular place for people of Jakarta to do physical exercises; jogging, bicycling, aerobics, and calisthenics, especially during the weekend.

On 29 April 2025, the Indonesian sovereign wealth fund agency, Danantara, planned to take over the management of the GBK complex from the current manager, Ministry of State Secretariat. Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani stated that the complex has a well prospect as "one of the largest state assets, but still limited in utilization and return on investment."

Sporting events

For the first time, the sports complex was host fourth Asian Games in 1962. The main stadium hosted the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Other competitions held there were several AFF Championship finals and domestic cup finals. The Istora hosted numbers of BWF World Championships, Sudirman Cup, Thomas Cup and Uber Cup badminton competitions. The tennis stadium hosted most of Indonesia's home matches at the Davis Cup and Fed Cup.

The sports complex hosted multi-event sport such as Pekan Olahraga Nasional (PON, National Sports Week) and Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games). The complex hosted the PON seven times between 1973 and 1996. The complex hosted the SEA Games in 1979, 1987, 1997 and 2011; the latter was co-hosted with Jakabaring Sport City complex in Palembang. It also hosted 2018 Asian Games along with Palembang's complex and some other venues across Palembang, Banten, Greater Jakarta and West Java, while it served only with other venues across Greater Jakarta and West Java during the subsequent Para Games.

The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was held at a new 17,150 seater arena within the sports complex known as Indonesia Arena; Indonesia was the co-host along with Japan and the Philippines. In 2025, Indonesia Arena hosted the 53rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

Facilities

Sports venues

Other buildings

Other buildings inside the complex

• Jakarta International Convention Center (completed 1974)
• Al Bina mosque (completed 2001)
• Jakarta Sultan Hotel (formerly Hilton Hotel Jakarta, completed 1971)
• Mulia Hotel (completed 1994)
• Krida Loka Park (completed 1987)
• GBK City Park (completed in 2019, stands on what was the Senayan Golf Course & Driving Range) Initially, the sports complex covers a much larger area than it is today. During the 1980s to 1990s, several land plots were developed into non-sport facilities. The northern area was developed into government offices while the southern area was developed into hotels and shopping malls. The complex also had a radio-controlled car circuit northwest of the main stadium, which was scrapped during the 2017 renovation.

Northern area

• DPR/MPR (Parliament) Building (completed 1968)
• TVRI Studios and National Headquarters Building (completed 1962)
• Ministry of Youth and Sports Building (completed 1983)
• National Forestry Museum (Manggala Wanabakti, formerly Ministry of Forestry office, completed 1983)
• Senayan Park (completed 2020, stands on the former site of Taman Ria Senayan)

Southern area

The southern area was originally an athlete village for the 1962 Asian Games. The village was demolished in the 1970s. Several buildings now stood in their location.

• Century Park Hotel (completed 1990)
• Ratu Plaza (completed 1982)
• Plaza Senayan (completed 1996)
• Senayan Trade Center (completed 2006)
• Senayan City (completed 2006)
• fX Sudirman (completed 2008)
• Fairmont Jakarta Hotel (completed 2015)
• Multipurpose Building (completed 1987)

Demolished buildings or facilities

• Remote controlled-car racing circuit
• Asia Afrika Sports Hall
• Volleyball Arena that was used during the 1962 Asian Games
• 18 tennis courts located southern of the tennis stadiums.
• Roller sports court
• Gymnastics Building
• Cemaratiga Softball Field
• Senayan Golf Range
• Street Dirt Senayan

Entertainment events

Main Stadium

Main article: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium#Entertainment events

Istora

Main article: Istora Gelora Bung Karno#Entertainment events

Indonesia Arena

Main article: Indonesia Arena#Entertainment events

Madya Stadium

Main article: Gelora Bung Karno Madya Stadium#Entertainment events

Tennis Indoor/Outdoor

2000 - 2019

2020 - present

Basketball Hall

Gallery

File:Friedrich Silaban.jpg|Friedrich Silaban, architect of the stadium and entire Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex. File:Sukarno, Sang Saka Melanglang Djagad, p12.jpg|President Sukarno, the namesake of the stadium. File:Gbk persija arema 20190803.jpg|The main stadium during a Liga 1 match.

Notes

References

Bibliography

References

1. "E-Booking Stadion Utama Gelora Bung Karno". Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Center.
2. (17 March 2015). "Sukarno dan GBK".
3. Afriyadi, Achmad Dwi. (13 May 2018). "Menteri PPN: Saat Tuan Rumah Asian Games 1962, RI Negara Miskin". [[Detik.com.
4. Pour, Julius. (2004). "Dari Gelora Bung Karno ke Gelora Bung Karno". Grasindo.
5. [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sp20070721mm.html Schwarzer gives kind assessment of Kawaguchi. The Japan Times Online]
6. "Overall Jakarta FIBA World Cup Attendance Reaches 111,000". Jakarta Globe.
7. (2025-04-29). "Rosan Ungkap Alasan Kawasan GBK Sekarang Dikelola Danantara". [[CNN Indonesia]].
8. Ganesha, Amal. (23 January 2018). "Jokowi Inaugurates Newly Renovated Istora Sports Hall". Jakarta Globe.
9. "E-Booking Stadion Aquatic". Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Center.
10. "E-Booking Stadion Tenis Indoor". Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Center.
11. "E-Booking Stadion Tenis Outdoor". Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Center.
12. "E-Booking Stadion Madya GBK". Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Center.
13. "E-Booking Gedung Basket". Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Center.
14. "Lapangan Baseball". Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Center.
15. "E-Booking Lapangan Hockey 1". Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Center.
16. "Softball Sport Technical Handbook". Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee.
17. "Lapangan Panahan". Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Center.
18. "Squash Technical Handbook".
19. (August 2025). "Gedung Serbaguna". Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Center}}{{Dead link.
20. (17 March 2024). "Are you as excited as we are for 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐔𝐁𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐀 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐈𝐍 𝐉𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐀!? 🎶✨ Get your tickets now and join us in rocking out with the band for their first return to Jakarta after 6 long years🔥 Limited tickets available! 📢 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗨𝗕𝗨𝗦 𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗔 𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 📅 Tuesday, 23 April 2024 📍 Tennis Indoor Senayan".
21. (28 May 2024). "Eve releases live documentary and photos from Jakarta concert during first Asia tour "Culture"".
22. PK Entertainment. (22 April 2024). "@babymonster_ygofficial is coming to Jakarta on Saturday, 8 June 2024 at Tennis Indoor Senayan. 🎫 Tickets will be available starting Thursday, May 2nd, 2024 at 10 a.m. (GMT+7 / Jakarta Local Time) exclusively at www.babymonsterinjakarta.com. This show is promoted by @temgmt & @pkentertainment.id. #BABYMONSTER #베이비몬스터 #BABYMONSTER_PRESENTS #SEEYOUTHERE #JAKARTA #SEEYOUTHEREinJAKARTA #20240608 #YG".
23. Mutia. (11 August 2024). "Rockstar Suho Concludes Asia Tour with a Resounding Success in Jakarta".
24. Nizar Zulmi. (15 May 2024). "Take That Confirmed To Appear In Jakarta November 2024".
25. (11 November 2024). "Inspirit! The wait is finally over! INFINITE is coming back to Jakarta and we are so ready for the non-stop fun and memorable experience together with our favorite boys 🎶".
26. (11 December 2024). "Siap-siap Nctzen! Nct Wish baru saja mengkonfirmasi jadwal tournya yang bertajuk "NCT WISH LOGIN SEOUL-ASIA" yang akan digelar di 8 kota salah satunya di Jakarta. Nct Wish akan mampir ke Jakarta pada tanggal 31 Mei mendatang berlokasi di Tennis Indoor Senayan.".
27. (15 July 2022). "Keshi Bakal Konser 2 Hari di Jakarta, Ini Cara Beli dan Harga Tiket Hari Kedua". Kompas Cyber Media.
28. Singh, Surej. (22 August 2023). "d4vd announces debut Asia tour this November and December". [[NME]].
29. "LiSA LiVE is Smile Always ASiA TOUR 2024". [[Jakarta Tourism and Culture Office]].