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On the back of a record-breaking 2022 for Wembley Stadium , venue director Liam Boylan tells Access how his team is planning to build on the current momentum and stage even more concerts each year .
Words : Christopher Barrett
Bobby Moore lifting the World Cup in 1966 , Freddie Mercury owning the stage at Live Aid in 1985 , the Olympics in 1948 and 2012 , Adele playing to 98,000 people in 2017 or Chloe Kelly ’ s extra time winner in 2022 – Wembley Stadium has seen countless landmark moments since its doors first opened , on 28 April 1923 , and everyone has a favourite . Last year , the stadium had its busiest year on record with a collective attendance of 2.6 million across 35 major events . Among the key moments were the Women ’ s FA Cup Final , the UEFA Women ’ s
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EURO 2022 Final , the Tyson Fury v Dillian Whyte World Heavyweight Championship fight , and a run of six shows by Coldplay .
In total , the stadium hosted 16 sold-out concerts in 2022 , with an attendance of more than 1.3m . It was the most gigs Wembley had hosted in a single year , with the previous record having been 14 concerts in 2019 .
The momentum since Wembley ’ s post-pandemic full reopening shows little sign of waning . With Wembley Stadium celebrating its 100th anniversary this year , the venue is set to enjoy another busy one , with six shows by Harry Styles , four by Blur , two nights of The Weeknd and a concert by Def Leppard & Mötley Crüe .
Owned by the Football Association ( FA ), the stadium usually works to a concert capacity of 80,000 but as demonstrated by Adele ’ s recordbreaking attendance in 2017 , there is room for manoeuvre . In February
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last year the FA announced it had agreed a strategic partnership with Oak View Group to grow and diversify sponsorship and content opportunities at the venue .
During the pandemic , Wembley Stadium played a key role in the Government ’ s Events Research Programme , which involved staging reduced-capacity events , including 21,000 people at the FA Cup final , and a 75 % capacity audience at the final
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Liam Boylan |