Wembley Stadium 2000

£34.50

While the new 90,000 stadium only opened in 2007, it is built on the site of the original Wembley Stadium that first appeared on the north London skyline in 1923. The stadium became the symbol of English football, and the famous Twin Towers, which stood at the entrance, were iconic throughout the world.

The FA Cup Final between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United on 28 April 1923 was the first event to take place at Wembley Stadium. The official attendance was 126,047, still the largest for any football match in England, but estimates of the number of people who entered the stadium put the number at around 200,000.

A year later, international football made its debut as England drew 1-1 with Scotland. Since then Wembley has hosted 78 FA Cup Finals, 258 England senior internationals, the 1966 World Cup, 40 League Cup Finals, six European Cup Finals and Euro 96.

But it’s not just football that has wowed Wembley…

Great Britain won 23 medals at the 1948 Olympic Games, three of them gold, while Henry Cooper floored Cassius Clay in one of boxing’s best-ever bouts in 1963.

Rugby League’s Challenge Cup Final has been a fixture here since 1929, while the glitz and glamour of the NFL has wowed the crowds since the 80s.

Greyhound racing, speedway, hockey, American wrestling and Evel Knievel are just some of the other stunning spectacles to have featured over the years and even the Pope graced Wembley’s hallowed turf in 1982!

Wembley’s credentials as a music Mecca were boosted with the global phenomenon of Live Aid in 1985 and concerts by Queen in 1986, Michael Jackson in 1988 and the Rolling Stones in 1990.

The last football match at the old stadium was England’s World Cup Qualifier against Germany on 7 October 2000. A crowd of 76,377 saw the Germans win 1-0 with Hamann’s free kick on 14 minutes. The stadium closed in October 2000, and was demolished in 2003 for redevelopment.

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