Wembley Stadium
100 years of football
A century of immortal stories
Yep, Wembley Stadium officially became a century old stadium. By comparison, queen Elisabeth II, God rests her soul, died at the age of 96. But, what is the story behind this impressive arena? I am going to unfold it today.
Old Wembley
The stadium was built in 1923. It took 300 days to be built and with a total cost of 750.000 pounds Makes you wonder how much the inflation has destroyed the purchasing parity of the British pound over the last century, doesn't it? Anyway, King George V had the honor to cut the turf on 28th of April. On the same day, the stadium held its first major event: 1923 FA Cup final between Bolton and West Ham. The former beat the latter 2-0, but there is another thing which made this final memorable. It is not exactly clear how many people attended the final, with some sources claiming that there were between 120.000 and 150.000 spectators. After the victory, Bolton's supporters invaded the pitch. As a result, mounted policeman were called to clear the area.
Police clearing the Wembley pitch. The white horse named ''Billie'' became a symbol of that day
But, the real purpose of this stadium was not holding sport events. It was designed for the 1924-1925 British Empire Exhibition. Actually, the original name of the stadium was ''Empire Stadium''. Apart from domestic cups finals, Wembley had the honor the host 1966 WC in which England defeated W. Germany 4-2, thus becoming world champions, Euro 1996 and Euro 2020 finals. Additionally, Wembley have hosted 1948 London Olympics, 2 European Cup Winners Cup finals and 7 UEFA Champions League finals, while the 8th is about to take place next year in 2024. I think I should look for some tickets.😂
The iconic photo in which English captain Bobby Moore is carried on the shoulders of his teammates lifting the WC trophy in 1966
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