One of the joys of watching sports in person is getting to experience the buzzing atmosphere of thousands of excited fans. And arguably, no one serves up an atmosphere quite like Welsh supporters.
Don’t believe us? Fine. Just ask rugby website Ruck, which clearly knows its stuff. Ruck looked at ratings of European stadiums on websites like rugbygroundmap and TripAdvisor to uncover which rugby stadium has the best atmosphere in Europe.
And claiming the crown was Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. Home to the nation’s favourite sport, the Principality Stadium is a legendary Welsh institution. It’s got a massive capacity of 74,500 and is the second largest stadium in the world with a retractable roof.
Ruck said: ‘Ask any rugby fan where to go for the best atmosphere, and you’ll likely hear all about Cardiff and its Principality Stadium (formerly the Millennium Stadium).’
Of course, Wales’ singing abilities are enough to give even the most fearsome rivals goosebumps and boost anyone’s morale.
Other British venues to make the cut for their atmosphere were Gloucester’s Kingsholm stadium coming in at number five, Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium at number seven followed by The Rec in Bath, Welford Road in Leicester and Twickenham Stadium in London (the world’s largest rugby union venue) which rounded off the list.
Here’s the full ranking:
- Principality Stadium, Cardiff
- Stade Marcel Michelin, Clermont
- Stade de France, France
- Thomond Park, Munster
- Kingsholm, Gloucester
- Stade Felix Mayol, Toulon
- Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
- The Rec, Bath
- Welford Road, Leicester
- Twickenham Stadium, London
ICYMI: this is the UK’s best city for roast dinners.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.