Simón Bolívar Park
Encyclopedia
The Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park best known as the Simón Bolívar Park is a greenspace
and entertainment and sports complex located in the middle of the city of Bogotá
, Colombia
.
The park is named after the Latin American Liberator Simón Bolívar
. The park is located in the locality of Teusaquillo and is managed by the District Institute of Recreation and Sport (Instituto Distrital de Recreacion y Deporte - IDRD) . The park is one of the most popular urban park
s in the city of Bogotá.
The park features a lake in which people can rent paddle boats and a large space for concerts and events capable of holding 140.000 people.
was a part of. This temple was named Eucharistic Temple. At the time the lake already existed as a natural feature. In 1986 a second temple was built for the reception of Pope John Paul II
. The park was officially named under the Law 31 of 1979 in commemoration of the bicentennial of the birth of Latin American leader Simón Bolívar
.
Colombian architect Arturo Robledo Ocampo designed in 1982 the details of new improvements to the park which at the time was far from an actual recreational space. Ocampo developed the plans for tree growing areas , the central plaza and also designed the water supply and structures such as channels and walls. In 1983 the Events Plaza was finally built. 3300 trees were planted and a pedestrian bridge that linked the park with the Children's Museum
was inaugurated. In 1995 the pedestrian pathways were made bigger from 5 meters to 10 meters wide. The stage area of the Events Plaza was closed in the perimeters and the illumination was improved. Three new access points were added.
Since 1996 new social programs have been created in order to make the park an events center. This include as of now the Summer Festival, and the Rock to the park festival
making it the axis of recreational activities for the city.
s. Its extension is over 970 acres (3.9 km²). At the present time it is considered the "lung of the city" due to its central location and because of its size and its vegetation. The park is conformed among others by the following parks:
from where there is a nice view of the city. The park features two rollercoasters as well. Additionally the park features a roof covered waterpark with pools and water slides. The Salitre is currently administered by a Mexican
private company which has improved and remodeled the park that used to be managed by the government of Bogotá.
. It also features a small coliseum for small events.
and BMX
dirt tracks. This park has 19 kiosks for barbecue and picnic activities. This park is accessible through the Transmilenio
system. One of the main attractions of this park is its lakes where people can rent pedal boats
.
whose technical specifications have been endorsed by the International Federation of Swimming
. The complex has stands for an audience of 1.500 people, parking lots for 300 vehicles, sauna, dressing rooms, gym and a cafeteria.
The water is kept at 27 degrees Celsius through a boiling system located in a basement of 2.000 square meters.
Luis Carlos Galan
are located in this unit. The latter especially built for the 1995 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
. It is also the headquarters of the city sports leagues with their respective training fields. It counts with a public bowling
center and connections to pedestrian bridges above the 68th Avenue to the Central Park Simón Bolívar
The park's Events Plaza is the venue of most of the concerts of international singers when thwy visit Bogota. It haves a maximum capacity for 100,000 people.
On May 2, 1999, Metallica
performed for the first time in Colombia with a sold-out show, holding the record for the highest attendance concert with 100,000 people attending for one only show.
During her The Sweet Escape Tour
, Gwen Stefani
performed the only show in South America for the tour, in front of 25,000 spectators.
Iron Maiden
performed for the first time in the country in front of more than 80,000 people. The show was recorded for the Iron Maiden: Flight 666
DVD.
In March 10, 2010 Metallica performed for the second time in the venue in front of 67,000 people. All platinum and VIP tickets were sold out.
On May 19, 2010, Aerosmith
performed a sold-out show. The band holds the record for fastest sell out concert at the park for their first show, with 3 hours and 40,000 tickets sold.
American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers
performed for the first time in the country in the events plaza on September 11, in front of 30,000 people. The show was the kick-off presentation for their "I'm with You Tour
".
Britney Spears
will perform a highly anticipated sold-out show on November 26, 2011. Tickets for a Meet & Greet with Spears sold out in within 1 minute, a large portion of tickets sold out within 5 minutes.
Greenspace
Greenspace or green space may refer to:* Greenspace or Open space reserve, a land use planning and conservation term used to describe protected areas of undeveloped landscape.* Greenspace, the Natural environment....
and entertainment and sports complex located in the middle of the city of Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.
The park is named after the Latin American Liberator Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
. The park is located in the locality of Teusaquillo and is managed by the District Institute of Recreation and Sport (Instituto Distrital de Recreacion y Deporte - IDRD) . The park is one of the most popular urban park
Urban park
An urban park, is also known as a municipal park or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality...
s in the city of Bogotá.
The park features a lake in which people can rent paddle boats and a large space for concerts and events capable of holding 140.000 people.
History
The construction of Simón Bolívar Park started in 1966. In 1968 the city of Bogotá built a temple to commemorate the 39th International Eucharistic Congress to which the pope Paul VIPope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
was a part of. This temple was named Eucharistic Temple. At the time the lake already existed as a natural feature. In 1986 a second temple was built for the reception of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
. The park was officially named under the Law 31 of 1979 in commemoration of the bicentennial of the birth of Latin American leader Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
.
Colombian architect Arturo Robledo Ocampo designed in 1982 the details of new improvements to the park which at the time was far from an actual recreational space. Ocampo developed the plans for tree growing areas , the central plaza and also designed the water supply and structures such as channels and walls. In 1983 the Events Plaza was finally built. 3300 trees were planted and a pedestrian bridge that linked the park with the Children's Museum
Children's Museum of Bogotá
The Children's Museum of Bogotá is a privately managed museum foundation in Bogotá, Colombia's capital city , established in 1986 and aimed at teaching children about science, technology, culture and arts...
was inaugurated. In 1995 the pedestrian pathways were made bigger from 5 meters to 10 meters wide. The stage area of the Events Plaza was closed in the perimeters and the illumination was improved. Three new access points were added.
Since 1996 new social programs have been created in order to make the park an events center. This include as of now the Summer Festival, and the Rock to the park festival
Rock al parque
Rock al Parque, is a rock music festival taking place in Bogotá, Colombia, since 1995. The festival's entry is free of charge. In 2004, 400,000 people reached the event. It is considered the most important rock festival in Latin America. It has ska, punk, hardcore, metal, and other genres on its...
making it the axis of recreational activities for the city.
Parks System
The Simón Bolívar Park is in fact a system of adjacent greenspaceGreenspace
Greenspace or green space may refer to:* Greenspace or Open space reserve, a land use planning and conservation term used to describe protected areas of undeveloped landscape.* Greenspace, the Natural environment....
s. Its extension is over 970 acres (3.9 km²). At the present time it is considered the "lung of the city" due to its central location and because of its size and its vegetation. The park is conformed among others by the following parks:
Simón Bolívar Central Park (PCSB)
It's the main greenspace, it has an area of about 279 acres (1.1 km²). A lake with an area of over 27 acres (109,265.2 m²). It features over 11 miles (17.7 km) of pedestrian pathways and an acoustic shell-shaped area for concerts. Major concerts and festivals mainly take place in this area.The Salitre Park
Commonly and formerly known as The Salitre Park and officially named Magic Salitre (Salitre Magico) is a recreational area and amusement park that includes amusement rides. The park is best known for its Ferris wheelFerris wheel
A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
from where there is a nice view of the city. The park features two rollercoasters as well. Additionally the park features a roof covered waterpark with pools and water slides. The Salitre is currently administered by a Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
private company which has improved and remodeled the park that used to be managed by the government of Bogotá.
Park SportsRecreation El Salitre (Parque RecreoDeportivo El Salitre)
Is a sports complex located adjacent to the Magic Salitre Park. It has courts for the practicing of different sports especially soccer and basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. It also features a small coliseum for small events.
Park of the Lake (Los Novios Park)
Los Novios Park (boyfriends-girlfriends park) with an area of over 53 acres (214,483.6 m²), this park features soccer fields and a motocrossMotocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
and BMX
Bicycle motocross
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
dirt tracks. This park has 19 kiosks for barbecue and picnic activities. This park is accessible through the Transmilenio
TransMilenio
TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit system that serves Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. The system opened to the public in December 2000, covering Av. Caracas and Calle 80...
system. One of the main attractions of this park is its lakes where people can rent pedal boats
Pedalo
A paddle boat or "pedalo" is a form of waterborne transport, primarily for recreational use, powered through the use of pedals....
.
Sport's Palace (Palacio de los Deportes)
Is a dedicated roof covered coliseum for concerts and events for an audience not bigger than 5.000 spectators. The Sports Palace is one of the most used spaces in the complex for the organization of local events and theatrical functions due to its versatility and the advantage of being a covered space. (See concerts section for information about artist that have performed at the arena).Simón Bolívar Aquatic Complex
Is a space that features three pools. A training pool, an Olympic pool and a diving poolDiving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
whose technical specifications have been endorsed by the International Federation of Swimming
Fina
Fina may refer to:*Fina, a character in the Skies of Arcadia video game*FINA, the International Swimming Federation*FINA, the North American Forum on Integration...
. The complex has stands for an audience of 1.500 people, parking lots for 300 vehicles, sauna, dressing rooms, gym and a cafeteria.
The water is kept at 27 degrees Celsius through a boiling system located in a basement of 2.000 square meters.
El Salitre Sports Unit
Is a sports center with facilities for the practicing of a variety of sports from indoors to outdoors. El Salitre Coliseum (second in importance to the El Campin Coliseum) and the velodromeVelodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
Luis Carlos Galan
Velódromo Luis Carlos Galán
The Velódromo Luis Carlos Galán is a velodrome in Bogotá, Colombia, which hosted the 1995 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.The track is long and made of concrete.-References:*...
are located in this unit. The latter especially built for the 1995 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
1995 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The 1995 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place in Bogotá, Colombia from September 26 to 30. Twelve events were contested, eight for the men and four for the women at the Velódromo Luis Carlos Galán...
. It is also the headquarters of the city sports leagues with their respective training fields. It counts with a public bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
center and connections to pedestrian bridges above the 68th Avenue to the Central Park Simón Bolívar
Concerts
Main article: List of events held at Simon Bolivar ParkThe park's Events Plaza is the venue of most of the concerts of international singers when thwy visit Bogota. It haves a maximum capacity for 100,000 people.
On May 2, 1999, Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
performed for the first time in Colombia with a sold-out show, holding the record for the highest attendance concert with 100,000 people attending for one only show.
During her The Sweet Escape Tour
The Sweet Escape Tour
The Sweet Escape Tour is the second concert tour by American pop and rock singer Gwen Stefani. The tour began in April 2007 in support of her second solo album The Sweet Escape.-About the show:...
, Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...
performed the only show in South America for the tour, in front of 25,000 spectators.
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
performed for the first time in the country in front of more than 80,000 people. The show was recorded for the Iron Maiden: Flight 666
Iron Maiden: Flight 666
Iron Maiden: Flight 666 is a concert documentary film featuring the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The film follows the band on the first leg of their Somewhere Back in Time World Tour between February and March 2008....
DVD.
In March 10, 2010 Metallica performed for the second time in the venue in front of 67,000 people. All platinum and VIP tickets were sold out.
On May 19, 2010, Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
performed a sold-out show. The band holds the record for fastest sell out concert at the park for their first show, with 3 hours and 40,000 tickets sold.
American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
performed for the first time in the country in the events plaza on September 11, in front of 30,000 people. The show was the kick-off presentation for their "I'm with You Tour
I'm with You Tour
The I'm With You Tour is an ongoing 2011-2013 concert tour by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in support of their album I'm with You. It is the group's first tour since the Stadium Arcadium tour in 2006-07 and is the first to feature guitarist Josh Klinghoffer following the departure of John Frusciante...
".
Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
will perform a highly anticipated sold-out show on November 26, 2011. Tickets for a Meet & Greet with Spears sold out in within 1 minute, a large portion of tickets sold out within 5 minutes.
See also
- 93 Park93 Park93 Park or 93rd Street Park is a Commercial and recreation park located over the 93 Street in the north of Bogota, Colombia. Is one of Bogota's most popular shopping, night clubs and restaurant areas...
- Coliseo El PuebloColiseo El PuebloColiseo El Pueblo is an indoor sporting arena located in Cali, Colombia. Opened in 1971 for the 1971 Pan American Games, the capacity of the arena is 18,000 and is used mostly for basketball, most notably as the venue of the latter states of the 1982 FIBA World Championship.Also the arena is used...
- Coliseo Cubierto El CampínColiseo Cubierto El CampínColiseo Cubierto El Campín is an indoor sporting arena located in Bogotá, Colombia. It was built in 1973.The capacity of the arena is 13,000 and is used mostly for basketball, tennis and concerts. The arena is the venue of many concerts in Bogotá, even though is criticized for lack of acoustic...
- Metropolitan Area of BogotáMetropolitan Area of BogotáMetropolitan Area of Bogotá is the unofficial metropolitan area of the Colombian capital city of Bogotá, usually used for statistical analysis or technical use....
- CorferiasCorferiasCorferias is a convention center located in the city of Bogotá Colombia in the barrio Quintaparedes. It's a venue of local, national and international events...