Wembley Stadium 'End of an Era'

The first, and possibly still only, sponsorship of the closure of a building.

BDS were the sponsorship consultants for Wembley National Stadium’s “End of an Era” sponsorship programme.

A unique sports sponsorship opportunity.

Wembley Stadium closed after 77 years of hosting both global and national sports events, ranging from The 1966 World Cup Final, England International matches and FA Cup Finals through to The 1948 Olympic Games, Mohammed Ali v Henry Cooper, Rugby Union, Rugby League, Greyhound Racing, Show Jumping, American Football, Baseball, Speedway and Cricket.

BDS obtained a number of high profile sponsors and raised a significant seven-figure sum for the Wembley National Stadium’s “End of an Era” initiative. Conceived as a fitting farewell to one of Britain’s most beloved institutions, sponsors were invited to participate in a variety of sponsorship activities, such as an auction (with a very significant minimum guarantee from the selected on-line auction house) of many rare and coveted items that Wembley didn’t want to retain (such as flags from The 1948 Olympic Games, bricks from the “Twin Towers” and programmes from FA Cup Finals).

There were Farewell Wembley Lunches and Commemorative Dinners, both with VIP guests, branding in the Stadium and Behind the Scenes Tours of the Stadium. The opportunity to attend the last ever match at Wembley was also given, a final on-pitch party, “The Final Whistle”, sponsored by AXA, and the opportunity to bring a team to play together in the final ever games on the hallowed turf. Events that served up a truly special kind of hospitality.

BDS also obtained Snickers as a sponsor. In return Snickers obtained the rights to run a promotion whereby consumers could collect 6 Snickers wrappers and then redeem them for a piece of the Wembley Turf together with a certificate of authenticity. The biggest challenge for BDS was finding a company who could cut, pack and deliver the turf fast enough so it arrived in a good condition!

Finally, as part of the sponsorship benefits for a P&G hair shampoo brand, a novel and highly successful campaign gave consumers the chance to win the highly coveted benches from the England dressing rooms. A seriously enviable prize, this competition ultimately raised the profile of the brand whilst at the same time increasing a broader awareness of the “End of an Era” initiative. Indeed, the Greek division of P&G contacted BDS three months after the competition went live in the UK to ask if Wembley had more benches so they also could run a similar competition.