WEMBLEY STADIUM (2007)

Wembley Stadium is an association football stadium in Wembley, London, England. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which had stood from 1923 until 2000. The stadium is England's national football stadium, and thus hosts the majority of the England national team home matches and the FA Cup Final – the final of England's primary domestic club football competition. It is considered one of the most well known football stadiums in the world, and is considered a hub for the English game. With 90,000 seats, it is the largest stadium in the UK and the second-largest stadium in Europe, behind Barcelona's Camp Nou. Designed by Populous and Foster and Partners, The initial plan for the reconstruction of Wembley Stadium was for demolition to begin before Christmas 2000, and for the new stadium to be completed some time during 2003, but this work was delayed by a succession of financial and legal difficulties. Demolition officially began on 30 September 2002, with the Twin Towers being dismantled in December 2002. On 19 June 2006, it was announced that the turf had been laid. On 19 October 2006 it was announced that the venue was now set to open in early 2007 after the dispute between the Football Association and Multiplex had finally been settled. The total cost of the project (including local transport infrastructure redevelopment and the cost of financing) was estimated to be £1 billion. For the new stadium the level of the pitch was lowered. During excavation of the new playing field, mechanical diggers unearthed a buried obstruction: the concrete foundations of Watkin's Tower, a failed attempt to construct a rival to the Eiffel Tower in London. Only the base of the tower was ever built before being abandoned and demolished in 1907; the site was later used as the location for the first Wembley Stadium. On 31 May 2014, Wembley Stadium hosted its first boxing event, featuring the rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves for the WBA and IBF super-middleweight titles. The contest was held in front of a crowd of 80,000, a British post-war attendance record for a boxing event, surpassing the crowd at the City of Manchester Stadium when it hosted Ricky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano in May 2008. The WBA (Super) and IBF heavyweight championship fight, Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko, broke the attendance record on 29 April 2017, with an attendance of approximately 90,000. In 2018, Joshua returned to Wembley and defeated Alexander Povetkin for the WBA (Super), IBF and WBO heavyweight titles in front of 80,000. The WBC and The Ring heavyweight title fight, Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte, took place on 23 April 2022 in a sold-out Wembley Stadium with 94,000. Fury emerged victorious with a 6th-round TKO. The stadium hosted Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois on 21 September 2024 as part of the Riyadh Season with Dubois emerging victorious by knockout in front of a record 96,000. Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois heavyweight boxing rematch for the Undisputed Championship was held on 19 July 2025 at the stadium. Usyk emerged victorious by knockout in front of 90,000.