Abandoned 30,000-seater stadium hosted Michael Jackson concert and set to stage Euro 2032

An abandoned stadium that once hosted a Michael Jackson concert is set to be brought back to life for Euro 2032. Both Italy and Turkey will host the summer tournament in seven years' time, with plans already starting to be put into place.

Three kilometres north of Rome's city centre lies the Stadio Flaminio - a stadium originally built in the 1950s for the 1960 Summer Olympics. Even though the stadium was once again renovated in 2008, it has since fallen into disrepair and is currently overgrown with long grass and bushes.

Stadio Flaminio boasts a rich cultural past, having welcomed some of the world's biggest music names, including The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and 13-time Grammy Award winner Michael Jackson. It was also the home of Italy's rugby union team between 2000 and 2011, with the ground hosting several Six Nations championships.

Over 30,000 people packed into Stadio Flaminio for Six Nations matches, and while it's been left to rot for well over a decade since, plans have emerged for the stadium to be redeveloped ahead of Euro 2032. The ambitious project will see Serie A side Lazio take up residency, with an estimated cost of £334million already being touted.

It isn't the first time a renovation project has been mooted, but an inability to build new facilities in the surrounding areas due to archaeological constraints has put a pin in previous plans. The developers of this project have come up with a way around that by proposing a 'restricted traffic zone' that will be activated three hours before kick-off.

As a result, it would limit the number of vehicles allowed in the surrounding area, while ensuring around 70 per cent of fans would need to use public transport to get to matches. Moreover, the renovation will bring increased prosperity to the local area, according to the developers, as the planned 50,000-seater arena will be able to be used for multi-purpose events.

Stringent red tape practices in Italy have made similar projects difficult to complete, but there's an increased confidence that Euro 2032 could increase the likelihood of securing the necessary funding. In order for it to be able to host matches at the tournament, the Stadio Flaminio would have to meet UEFA's category 4 standards, suitable for hosting international events.