Shortlist of names agreed for Wembley bridge
Three of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team are up against Live Aid and Billy the White Horse in a poll to decide the name of a state-of-the-art footbridge at the new Wembley stadium.
The bridge will connect the new national stadium, which opens in a year’s time, to the town centre.
The five names are Alf Ramsey, Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst, the White Horse, and Live Aid.
The London Development Agency received more than 670,000 suggestions for the bridge’s name, including many from fans in rival countries seeking to hijack the competition.
But a three-strong panel rejected overseas pressure in favour of the famous names on the list.
Voting begins today, exactly a year before the stadium is due to open for the 2006 FA Cup Final.
People can register their choice online at www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive until midnight on May 22. The winner will be announced on Five Live Breakfast on Monday, May 23.
Fans in Germany, Scotland, Australia, Ireland, Wales and New Zealand ran concerted campaigns to promote their heroes for feats achieved against England.
Irish fans tried to push for the name "The Roy Keane Bridge" while the most nominated name was Dietmar Hamann, who scored the last competitive goal at the old Wembley stadium when Germany opened their 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 win against England.
Bob Geldof’s Live Aid was chosen as a reminder that the stadium is about more than football. And for the purists and history lovers, the White Horse was chosen.
The White Horse is a Wembley legend. An estimated 250,000 people swarmed into the stadium in 1923 for the first cup final at the ground, crowding on to the pitch, before PC George Scorey and Billy the White Horse rode on to restore order.
It became known as the White Horse Cup Final.
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