Inside Allianz Arena – The 2011/12 UEFA Champions League Final Match Venue

On May 19 the best of European football will make the Allianz Arena in Munich their destination, as the eyes of the world turn to the Final of football’s most prestigious club competition.

As a founding partner of the iconic Arena, Allianz is offering football fans exclusive behind-the-scenes insight in the run up to the biggest night of football this year to date.

“No one knows the Allianz Arena better than Allianz and we remain proud to be the naming partner of this world famous football stadium,” says Christian Deuringer, Head of Global Brand Management of Allianz SE. Allianz, one of the world’s leading financial services and insurance providers, has its global head office located in Munich.

The iconic stadium is known for the distinctive illuminated ‘cushions’ on the exterior facade, which change to red, blue or white depending on who is playing inside. Allianz performed a key role in the Arena development, with its research laboratory, the Allianz Center for Technology (AZT), conducting all fire resistance tests of the outer material.

The Allianz Arena took three years to build, and since its official opening on May 31, 2005, has hosted nearly 15 million fans and over 300 matches – including the opening match and semi-finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. 66,000 attend each major match.

Online, fans can now walk through the stadium via the Football for Life Facebook page and website, football-for-life.com, enabling everyone to make the Allianz Arena their destination regardless of where they are in the world. The interactive 360° panorama tour takes fans into the dressing room, down the players’ tunnel and onto the pitch, the same walk the best players in European football will take in just under six weeks’ time.

Four infographics have been created to illustrate the inner workings of this very modern stadium, everything from the length, width and thickness of the turf, to the eco-friendly nature of the outer lighting system, even the number of sausages sold at every match.

A short film has also been released, exploring the Arena inside and out, and giving fans a unique view of the stadium that will host the best footballers in Europe next month.

Fans are also encouraged to go to Football for Life on Facebook to post comments and share their one piece of advice to the players and teams as they prepare for the Final.

“Football is an international language, spoken by millions around the world,” says Christian Deuringer. “We look forward to sharing our insight and knowledge with fans all over the world and welcoming them to this great stadium and to Munich on May 19.”

Fans can find the 360° panorama tour and behind-the-scenes Allianz Arena stories, images and videos on the Football for Life Facebook page or at football-for-life.com.