Wembley Stadium, second largest in Europe

The Wembley Stadium in London is, after Nou Camp in Barcelona, the second largest stadium in Europe and hosts the England national team. It houses also the League Cup finals, FA Cup and the Community Shield. It has a capacity of 90,000 seats.

Wembley stadium replaced the old stadium with the same name, built in 1923, and hosted many memorable matches. The original Wembley was demolished in 2003, when the construction of the new stadium begun. After several delays, delaying its opening by two years, Wembley was completed in 2007.

Wembley Stadium officially opens on May 19, 2007, hosting the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United (score 1-0). Before the match of major importance for the British football, some other official and friendly matches were held here, starting with the friendly match between England and Italy footballers under 21.

The stadium was designed by Foster & Partner and Popoulos companies and its costs are estimated at £757 million. The arena is representative because of its arch, 133 meters high, along with the 315 meter stretching, is the longest roof structure in the world. Records continue with the retractable roof of over 52 meters high. Even if the roof does not fully cover the playing field, it is able to protect all the seats from the rain, being the largest roof in the world. 

Here is a short tour of the stadium: