Since opening as the Empire Stadium in 1923, Wembley captured the nation’s heart as the home of football. World-wide venue fame followed, with international events including the 1948 Olympic Games, England’s World Cup victory in 1966 and the Live Aid concert in 1985. By the late 1990’s it was agreed that Wembley needed full redevelopment to bring the English National Stadium into the new millennium.
The new 90,000 seat Wembley Stadium was designed by the World Stadium Team, a joint venture between Populous and Foster & Partners, as a multi-purpose venue to host soccer, rugby, concerts and, by the installation of a temporary deck above pitch level, athletics when required. Th e geometry of the design brought the Wembley heritage into the 21st Century, with a new, open four tier seating bowl achieving excellent sightlines across the pitch, and improved spectator comfort. Every seat off ers more width and legroom than those in the old Royal Box. A retractable roof on the southern side allows additional light and air onto the pitch and also shelters spectators during events. Between events, the roof is left open, but can be moved to cover all the seats. Th e roof and bowl were both acoustically engineered to replicate the famous ‘Wembley Roar’, enhancing the atmosphere and sense of occasion for both spectators and players. Key to the roof design is the Wembley Arch, symbol of the new stadium and the longest single span roof structure in the world. Supporting both the fi xed and moving roof sections from above, the arch eliminates internal columns, and bringing a new landmark to the London skyline.
As the venue for the biggest national and international games in English football the stadium has a range of hospitality spaces that allow 10,000 people to dine before a match. Th ese facilities are designed also to be used on non-mach days for conferences, dinners and other events, creating Wembley Stadium as a London hospitality venue for events throughout the year. The London Borough of Brent has been revitalised by the new stadium, with the upgraded public transport links encouraging match-day arrivals also benefi tting local residents and businesses, and up to 1800 people visiting the area daily on their way to the famous Wembley Stadium tour. Proposals for mixed use developments in the surrounding former light industrial areas continue to ripple out from the stadium core facility.
The new Wembley Stadium opened in 2007, returning the FA Cup Final to its traditional home, and the venue is now building upon its heritage to become the world’s most dynamic stadium. In the fi rst year of events, Wembley welcomed more than 2.5 million visitors and the sport, concert and cultural events achieved an estimated global digital audience of over 3 billion.
