Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Stadium in Lausanne, Switzerland

The Stade Olympique de la Pontaise is an oval reinforced-concrete stadium in northern Lausanne, built in 1950-1952 to a design by architect Charles-François Thévenaz and erected by the civil engineering firm Contini. Its stands form only curved lines, rising higher at the ends for sightlines, and the main-stand roof was a technical feat for its time. A grass pitch and running track sit inside.

Sports facilities appeared on the Pontaise wasteland from 1904, when Montriond Football Club players and athletes of the Club hygiénique de Lausanne shared the site. In 1920 the athletes built the first stands and a running track themselves. The current oval of reinforced concrete, designed by Charles-François Thévenaz and built by Contini in 1950–1952, was inaugurated on 23 May 1954 before 43,500 spectators and hosted five matches of that year's World Cup, including Switzerland's 7-5 quarter-final loss to Austria.

The stadium has been home to FC Stade Lausanne Ouchy since September 2020, after FC Lausanne-Sport left for the Stade de la Tuilière. It also hosts the annual Athletissima athletics meeting, founded in 1977 and part of the Diamond League since 2010; the 2012 edition drew a record 14,500 spectators.

The easiest access is by bus lines 1 or 21 from Lausanne station to the Stade Olympique stop. The site sits on open ground and is also reachable on foot from the station if you have about 20 minutes to spare.

Michael Jackson's 8 September 1992 concert at the Pontaise drew 47,000 spectators, the venue's attendance record. The Rolling Stones played here on 9 August 2007 before 42,600 people, and Soprano drew 28,000 on 5 June 2022. The stadium also hosted the 2011 World Gymnaestrada, with 19,100 participants and 5,000 volunteers.