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History

With a little over 35,000 residents, Lens resembles the Tom Thumb of the host cities for RWC 2007. And it still is the smallest town to have staged a major sporting event with matches in the 1998 World Cup soccer finals. The Pas-de-Calais regional authority might these days be active in sport but its history is inextricably linked to coal mining.

 

In 1720, the first coal seams were discovered nearby at Anzin. More and more pits opened from 1840 to exploit the black gold of this 120km-long bowl. The inter-war years marked the height of mining in the area with production reaching 35 million tonnes in 1930 to power the steel and chemical industries. Forty years later coal mining went into rapid decline and pits closed one after the other until the last mine stopped working in 1990.

 

 

41% of the population under 25

The black mugs, as the miners were called, may have disappeared but they left behind an unchanging tradition: the Ch’ti, the local dialect now used to describe anyone from the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, the beer festivals, or ducasses (foires) ... Yet the city has not stood still. It has launched itself into a makeover which has seen seven business parks set up to diversify the local economy (textiles, automobile manufacturing, food processing). A scientific hub, engineering school and several technical colleges help dynamise a youthful area where 41 per cent of Lens residents are under 25.

 

 

Stade Félix-Bollaert Stadium

Stade Félix Bollaert is a football stadium in Lens, France, that was built in 1932. It is the home of RC Lens. The stadium's capacity is 41,233 (larger than Lens' current population of roughly 37,000). It takes its name from a commercial director of a local mining company who died shortly before the inauguration of the stadium. The stadium will also be hosting matches during the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

 

 

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