Doors finally open at new Wembley

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Doors finally open at new Wembley



The doors at the new Wembley Stadium have opened for the first time for a special community event.

Up to 60,000 Brent residents tested turnstiles and escalators as part of the safety certificate application process for May's FA Cup final.

A football session will take place on the pitch and visitors will be asked to collectively flush the stadium toilets.

The £757m ground was due to reopen in August 2005 but a series of hold-ups cancelled music and sports events.

Members of England fan club Englandfans were also invited to Saturday's "community day", which featured music and dancers from the local area.

Wembley Stadium managing director Alex Horne said it was the first step towards gaining the safety certificate needed to host the FA Cup final.

"We still remain on track to host the 2007 FA Cup final," he said.

"But the FA will only announce the 2007 Cup final at Wembley once the stadium has been granted its general safety certificate."


Visitors were dwarfed by the 90,000-seater capacity

The old Wembley, which opened in 1923, closed in 2000 and was demolished in 2002.

Alistair Lenczner, an associate partner with the stadium's architects, Foster and Partners, said the old arena's famous twin towers were still part of the building.

He said: "When they were crushed, some of the crush material was actually used to go into the concrete, which went into the foundations of the new stadium, so the ghost of the old twin towers is there.

"But I think the optimism of the new arch is what the new stadium is all about."

The Rolling Stones, Take That, Bon Jovi and Robbie Williams were forced to switch venues as the stadium missed its planned re-opening date, while last year's FA Cup final was relocated to Cardiff.

An under-21s game between England and Italy will be the first competitive football match to be played at the rebuilt stadium on 24 March.

George Michael will be the first performer to play there on 9 June.

Credit - BBC Sport

Indeed, the word finally can no be used boldly enough.