“The amphitheatre is thus the first outstanding monument of the Antique that I see and it is so well preserved! As I entered, but even more as I walked around its edge above, it seemed strange to me to see at once something so great and, actually, to see nothing. It does not wish to be seen empty, but full of people. For such an amphitheatre is built so that the people may be impressed by themselves, to be at their best.

The general need to satisfy; that is the architect’s basic task here. He prepares such a crater with art, as simple as possible, so that its jewel becomes the people themselves. When they saw themselves like this together, they had to be amazed by themselves, for they were otherwise only used to seeing themselves all walking around together at the same time, in crowds without structure and with little discipline.

The multi-headed, many-minded, back-and-forth swaying and confused animal is unified into a single, noble body, destined to unity, linked like a figure brought to life by a single spirit. The simplicity of the oval is tangible for all eyes in the most agreeable manner, with every head serving as a measure to how awesome the entirety is.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Italian Journey (1786–1788))

Goethe’s description of the amphitheatre can be read today as a fascinating anticipation of modern sports architecture. What he called a “crater”, a form shaped to hold and unify a crowd, is precisely what today’s stadiums and arenas strive to achieve. The design of such venues transforms thousands of individuals into a single collective body, amplifying emotion and shared experience. The architecture itself becomes a catalyst: it does not merely frame the event, it intensifies it.

The crowd, gathered in an oval or circular form, becomes the true “spectacle,” with the building serving as the stage that magnifies unity, excitement, and passion. In this way, Goethe’s reflections on the amphitheatre still resonate strongly with how we understand sports facilities today, as spaces where architecture and emotion merge to create unforgettable moments.

Goethe also recognized that a crowd gathered in an arena could be influenced for almost any purpose — yet he understood that such “seduction” always depended on the willingness of the individuals within it. The stadium, as a vessel of collective emotion, has therefore always carried an ambivalence: it can elevate, inspire, and unite — but it can also be misused.

A striking example of this duality was the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, where the Nazi regime orchestrated the event for propaganda purposes. The German cabaret artist Karl Valentin later visited the Olympic Stadium and captured the contrast in a single, poignant image: a photograph of himself sitting alone in the vast, empty stands. He recalled: “Around me there was no one sitting anywhere – the huge silence all around was quiet and noiseless.”

With the publication of The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, Gustave Le Bon introduced a new way of understanding mass behaviour. For the first time, psychology, until then focused on the individual, was applied to the dynamics of crowds.

Le Bon observed that individuals, once part of a crowd, begin to behave differently. Emotions intensify, rational control diminishes, and collective behaviour emerges.

Under the influence of shared excitement or major events, thousands of individuals can act as a single entity. He described how anonymity within a crowd creates a sense of power and reduces personal responsibility. Ideas and emotions spread rapidly, often leading to immediate action. In this environment, the crowd becomes highly suggestible driven less by reason and more by instinct and shared sentiment.

These insights proved highly influential, particularly in the twentieth century, where mass movements, both constructive and destructive, demonstrated the power of collective psychology. For the development of sports venues, Le Bon’s work highlights a crucial dimension: stadiums are not only physical structures, but spaces designed for collective experience. The interaction between architecture and crowd behaviour becomes a defining factor, shaping atmosphere, identity, and the emotional intensity of live events.