New Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (usually shortened to just Wembley) is a football stadium, located in Wembley Park in London, UK. Primarily a football venue, Wembley is owned by The Football Association (The FA) via its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Limited, and hosts England’s home international football matches and the main English domestic cup finals. The Stadium is also used for music concerts and other sporting events. Wembley will host the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final.
Wembley’s 90,000 capacity makes it the second largest stadium in Europe, and is the largest in the world with every seat under cover. Immediately following its opening, it was often referred to as the “new Wembley Stadium” to distinguish it from the original stadium. The land has been used as for football since as early as the 1880s.
Old Wembley Stadium
The previous Wembley Stadium (originally known as the British Empire Exhibition Stadium or Empire Stadium) was one of the world’s most famous football stadiums, being England’s national stadium for football, and because of the geographical origins of the game was often referred to as “The Home of Football”. It hosted the European Cup (now the UEFA Champions League) final a record five times, and is one of seventeen stadiums to have held a FIFA World Cup final. Though the original structure was closed in 2000, it was not demolished until 2003, after which construction began on the new stadium, originally intended to open in 2006. This was later delayed until early 2007. The final completion date of the stadium was 9 March 2007, when the keys to the stadium were handed over to the FA.
Music
Besides football, Wembley can be configured to hold many other events, particularly major concerts. The first concert at the new stadium was given by George Michael on 9 June 2007. Other acts to have performed at the stadium are Westlife, Muse who were the first artists to sell out Wembley, Metallica, Foo Fighters and Madonna. Coldplay, AC/DC, U2, Oasis and Queen.
Two large charity concerts have been held at the new Wembley stadium, the Concert for Diana, a memorial concert ten years after the Death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Live Earth. Bon Jovi were scheduled to be the first artists to perform at the new Wembley but the late completion of the stadium saw the concerts relocated to the National Bowl and the KC Stadium.
Wembley Stadium Pics
Wembley Stadium Video