White City Stadium was a

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

located in

White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football clu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. Built for the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 World Cup. From 1927, it was a venue for greyhound racing, hosting the

English Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race on the British Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing calendar, with a history stretching back to 1927. It was first held at White City Stadium, but moved to Wimbledon ...

until its closure in 1984. The stadium was demolished in 1985 and the site is now occupied by

White City Place White City Place is the name given to the collection of buildings formerly known as BBC Media Village (more commonly simply as White City or W12 within the BBC). White City Place is a collection of six buildings occupying a 17-acre site off Wo ...

History

Franco-British Exhibition, 1908 (3057429205)

George Wimpey George Wimpey was a British construction firm. Formed in 1880 and based in Hammersmith, it initially operated largely as a road surfacing contractor. The business was acquired by Godfrey Mitchell in 1919, and he developed it into a constructi ...

, on part of the site of the

Franco-British Exhibition The Franco-British Exhibition was a large public fair held in London between 14 May and 31 October 1908. The exhibition attracted 8 million visitors and celebrated the Entente Cordiale signed in 1904 by the United Kingdom and France. The chief ar ...

, this stadium with a seating capacity of 68,000 was opened by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

on 27 April 1908 after the first stanchion had been placed in position by Lady Desborough on 2 August 1907. The cost of construction was £60,000. Upon completion, the stadium had a running track and three laps to the mile (536 m); outside there was a , cycle track. The infield included a swimming and diving pool. Many events of the 1908 Olympics were at the stadium itself whereas nowadays there are many arenas. The Olympic rugby union final between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

was held in the stadium on 26 October 1908 and events such as archery and gymnastics took place at White City, while some others took place at

Queens Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship re ...

. Swimming was held at White City, in a 100 metres long pool dug in the infield. White City Stadium 1908

The position of the finish line for the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

in the 1908 Summer Olympics is commemorated by a marker in the plaza that now stands there. The distance of the modern marathon was fixed at these Games and calculated from the start of the race at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

to a point in front of the royal box. The medal table for the

is also listed on a nearby wall. The original running track continued in use until 1914. There were attempts to sell the stadium in 1922, but several athletes in the team for the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

used it for training. In 1926, the GRA (

Greyhound Racing Association The Greyhound Racing Association was a UK-based private company founded in 1925 and existed until 2019. It was involved in the management of sports venues, notably greyhound racing stadia. The GRA was responsible for introducing Greyhound racing ...

) took over the stadium and in 1927, the track was grassed over for

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

and

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

. They built new covered terracing and a restaurant. From 1927 until its closure, it hosted weekly greyhound meetings and was considered the top greyhound track in Britain. It hosted the sport's premier event, the

, until 1984. Just before and after the Second World War attendances were huge, a record 92,000 spectators attended the 1939 Derby final. In 1931, a 440yd running track was installed for the Amateur Athletic Association Championships, held there from 1932 to 1970. Besides the AAA championships, major athletics events, including international matches, were held at the stadium. In 1954, in a match against Russia Christopher Chataway broke the world 5000m record running against

Vladimir Kuts Volodymyr Petrovych Kuts ( uk, Володимир Петрович Куц, russian: Владимир Петрович Куц, 7 February 1927 – 16 August 1975) was a Soviet long-distance runner. He won the 5000 and 10000 m races at the 1956 ...

. The one mile world record was broken there by

Derek Ibbotson George Derek Ibbotson (17 June 1932 – 23 February 2017) was an English runner who excelled in athletics in the 1950s. His most famous achievement was setting a new world record in the mile in 1957. Biography Ibbotson was born in Huddersfi ...

in 1957. In 1934, the second British Empire Games and the fourth Women's World Games were held at the venue. Also in 1931,

Queens Park Rangers F.C. Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

began the first of two spells playing at the stadium, until 1933 (the second spell was from 1962 to 1963). QPR eventually decided against a permanent move to White City and stayed at

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

Canada-United States football game at White City Stadium, London, 1944

Between 1932 and 1958, the stadium hosted major British boxing events, with attendances peaking as high as 90,000 for the second meeting between

Len Harvey Leonard Austen Harvey (11 July 1907 – 28 November 1976) was a British boxer. A great defensive boxer, he boxed at every weight division available at the time, from flyweight to heavyweight. He became the light-heavyweight and heavyweight ch ...

and Jack Petersen in 1934. The first major fight at the stadium was Len Harvey's unsuccessful challenge for the NBA Middleweight Championship versus

Marcel Thil Marcel Thil (29 May 1904 – 14 August 1968) was a French boxer and middleweight world champion. Statistical boxing website BoxRec rates Thil as the second best European boxer ever across all weight divisions, after Joe Calzaghe.Primo Carnera Primo may refer to: People *DJ Premier (born 1966), hip-hop producer, sometimes goes by nickname Primo * Primo Carnera (1906–1967), Italian boxer, World Heavyweight champion 1933–1934 *Primo Cassarino (born 1956), enforcer for the Gambino cr ...

suffered his only defeat on British soil here when he lost to Canadian

Larry Gains Lawrence Samuel "Larry" Gains (12 December 1900 – 26 July 1983) was a Black Canadian heavyweight boxer who was champion of Canada and the British Empire. One of the top heavyweights of his era, he was denied the opportunity to become World Ch ...

in May 1932. Other important fighters to appear at White City include

Jock McAvoy Joseph Patrick Bamford (20 November 1908 – 20 November 1971), better known by his ring name Jock McAvoy, was a British boxer who fought from 1927 to 1945. He held the British Empire Middleweight Championship from 1933 to 1939, and took the ...

Don Cockell Donald John Cockell (22 September 1928 – 18 July 1983) was an English boxer. He fought for most of his career as a light-heavyweight and became the British and European champion at that weight. Later in his career he moved up to heavyweight ...

Nino Valdez Nino or Niño may refer to: *Nino (name) *Niño (name) * Antonin Scalia, American Supreme Court justice whose nickname was "Nino" *El Niño, a climate pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean *NINO, an abbreviation for National Insurance number in th ...

Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer, best remembered internationally for a 1963 fight in which he knocked down a young Cassius Clay before the fight was stopped because of a cut eye from Clay's punches. Coo ...

and

Terry Downes Terry Downes, BEM (9 May 1936 – 6 October 2017) was a British middleweight boxer, occasional film actor, and businessman. He was nicknamed the "Paddington Express" for his aggressive fighting style. At the time of his death, Downes was Brita ...

. In 1933, Wigan Highfield, a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

side, nearly became bankrupt. White City Company, owners of the stadium, decided to move the club to

. Previously, only

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

had been popular in southern England, professional

being the preserve of northern towns and cities.

Wigan Highfield Liverpool Stanley was a semi-professional rugby league club from Liverpool, England. It was renamed Liverpool City in 1951, but was otherwise unrelated to the original Liverpool club of the same name. The club's origins date back to 1880 when i ...

became

London Highfield Liverpool Stanley was a semi-professional rugby league club from Liverpool, England. It was renamed Liverpool City in 1951, but was otherwise unrelated to the original Liverpool club of the same name. The club's origins date back to 1880 when i ...

with their debts paid. Their first try was scored by George "Porky" Davies, who went on to play for

Liverpool Stanley Liverpool Stanley was a semi-professional rugby league club from Liverpool, England. It was renamed Liverpool City in 1951, but was otherwise unrelated to the original Liverpool club of the same name. The club's origins date back to 1880 when i ...

and then St. Helens from 1938 to 1947. The White City Company lost money on the venture and decided not to continue with rugby league. London Highfield was the precursor to

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England. The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...

, the current leading rugby league club in London. In 1966, Wembley's owner's refusal to cancel regular greyhound racing meant the match between

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...

was played at White City. The game attracted 45,662 fans. The stadium was demolished in 1985 and the site is now occupied by

(formerly BBC White City).

Greyhound racing

White City Stadium was principally used for

for the majority of its existence. The first greyhound meeting took place on 20 June 1927. The stadium became the Mecca of greyhound racing with tens of thousands of spectators attending meetings on a regular basis, particularly in the 1940s, and 1950s. A crowd of 92,000 attended the 1939 English Greyhound Derby final.

Competitions

The track was renowned for holding some of the sports top events in addition to the

. They included the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

, the Oaks, the Wood Lane Stakes, the Longcross Cup and the Cambridgeshire. The final Greyhound Derby was held on 23 June 1984.

Speedway

The speedway track at White City was in length. The White City stadium first held open speedway meetings in 1928 before the start of the Southern League, in 1929. A team from the stadium known as White City (London) entered the 1929 Southern League where they finished in 7th place out of 11 teams (after Birmingham (Hall Green) resigned for the league after racing 7 league matches). The White City team were due to race in the 1930 Southern League, but they withdrew from the league before it started. The stadium then ran once again using an Open Licence and held occasional one-off meetings between (1953–1958, 1961) until a new league team was formed, from the Oxford 'Rebels' in 1976. From 1976 until 1978, the stadium was home to

White City Rebels The White City Rebels were a motorcycle speedway team who operated from the White City Stadium, Wood Lane in London. History White City were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929 but only raced for the one season. The White City tea ...

speedway team. The team closed after only three seasons due to poor crowds levels, despite finishing the 1977 season as champions of the

British League The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a second division starting in 1968 (which was renamed the ...

. The Rebels' most notable rider was

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

International

Gordon Kennett Gordon William Kennett (born 2 September 1953) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. In 1978 he won the World Pairs Championship with Malcolm Simmons. He also finished runner-up to Ole Olsen in the 1978 Speedway World Championship at Wemble ...

. Other notable riders were Steve Weatherley,

Trevor Geer Trevor Geer is a former motorcycle speedway rider, active in the 1970s and 1980s. Career Geer raced for the Eastbourne Eagles in the early seventies, before transferring to the Oxford Rebels. He and Ole Olsen came second in the Radio Oxford ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Marek Cieślak Marek Kazimierz Cieślak (born 28 June 1950) is a Polish former speedway rider and current coach. In 2007 he was a manager of Poland national team. Poland won Speedway World Cup and Team U-21 World Championship. After victory in SWC, on 30 Ju ...

and multiple

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

champion

Kai Niemi Kai Juhani Niemi (born 15 September 1955 in Pori, Finland) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider who represented the Finland national speedway team. Career He reached four World Championship finals, finishing a career best fourt ...

and Colin Watson (pre war). From 1979 to 1983 the stadium once again raced using an Open Licence hosting a number of high-profile

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...

qualifying rounds, including the Overseas and

Intercontinental Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IH ...

Finals during the 1970s, and 1980s. It also hosted the Final of the

Speedway World Team Cup The Speedway World Team Cup was an annual speedway event held each year in different countries. The competition started in 1960 and was replaced with the Speedway World Cup in 2001. Format From 1960 until 1985 each team consisted of four riders ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

. Following the end of speedway at the

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

after the 1981 World Final, White City became the home of international speedway in Great Britain until it was closed in 1984. Following this international speedway moved out of London and north to

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the Valley ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

Speedway World Finals

World Team Cup

–

(

John Boulger John Boulger (born 18 June 1945 in Adelaide, South Australia) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider. After he retired from riding Solos in the early 1980s, Boulger raced somewhat successfully in Speedcars (Midgets) from the mid- ...

Phil Crump Philip John Crump (born 9 February 1952) in Mildura, Victoria is a retired Australian Motorcycle speedway riderLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. who attained 3rd place in the 1976 World Championship. He also won the 1976 Spee ...

Billy Sanders William Robert Sanders (9 September 1955 – 23 April 1985Oakes, P (1982). ''Daily Mirror 1982 Speedway Yearbook''. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ) was an Australian international Speedway rider who won six Australian Championships and w ...

Phil Herne Philip Edwin Herne (born 27 March 1955)Oakes, Peter (1982) ''1982 Speedway Yearbook'', Studio Publications, , p. 173 is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider who won the World Team Cup in 1976. Biography Born in Ballina, New South W ...

Garry Middleton Garry David Middleton (born 19 July 1948 Corowa, New South Wales - 23 November 1994) was an Australian motorcycle speedway rider. Career He first came to Britain in 1967 a rode for a short time with the Belle Vue Aces and the King's Lynn Sta ...

) – 42 pts *

–

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

(

Ivan Mauger Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson ...

/ Larry Ross /

Mitch Shirra Mitchell Owen (Mitch) Shirra (born 27 September 1958 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a former motorcycle speedway rider who rode with the Coventry Bees, Reading Racers, Swindon Robins and Ipswich Witches in the British League. Career Shirra began ...

Bruce Cribb Bruce Brian Hoani Cribb (born 27 June 1946) is a former speedway rider from New Zealand, who rode in the United Kingdom for several teams in a career spanning over twenty years. Career Cribb was born in Palmerston North, where he began riding, ...

/ Roger Abel) – 35 pts *

–

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(

Bruce Penhall Bruce Lee Penhall (born May 10, 1957) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway racer who later starred in television and in film. He was the World Speedway Champion in 1981 and 1982 and rode for the successful Cradley Heath Heathen ...

/ Bobby Schwartz / Kelly Moran /

Shawn Moran Shawn Moran (born November 19, 1961 in Lakewood, California) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway rider who was one of the most popular and talented riders ever to race for Sheffield Tigers who also represented the United State ...

Scott Autrey Scott Brian Autrey (born July 9, 1953) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway rider. In 1976, he became the first American rider to reach a speedway world final since Ernie Roccio in 1951. __TOC__ Motorcycle racing career Born in ...

) – 34 pts

Appearances in the media

The White City Stadium features in the climax to the 1950 film ''

The Blue Lamp ''The Blue Lamp'' is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley. The title refers to the blue lamps that ...

''. It also appears in an episode of 1960s television spy series ''

Man in a Suitcase ''Man in a Suitcase'' is a British television private eye thriller series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It originally aired in the United Kingdom on ITV from 27 September 1967 to 17 April 1968. ABC broadcast episodes of ''Man in a ...

'' ("Man From the Dead"), and was used in the 1973 film ''

Steptoe and Son Ride Again ''Steptoe and Son Ride Again'' is a 1973 British comedy film. It is a sequel to the film ''Steptoe and Son (film), Steptoe and Son'' (1972) based on Steptoe and Son, the television series. As usual, the film starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. C ...

''. Some sections of the video for

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

single " Life On Your Own" were shot in the stadium in 1984, just a few months before its demolition. The stadium is shown in the 1956 comedy centred on greyhound racing ''

Jumping for Joy ''Jumping for Joy'' is a 1956 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Frankie Howerd, Stanley Holloway, Joan Hickson and Lionel Jeffries. Plot Willie Joy (Frankie Howerd) works at a greyhound track as a cleaner, whic ...

''. The stadium was the location of a public outburst by

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voca ...

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

during a July 1973 performance.Hinman, Doug (2004). p. 174 Davies swore onstage,Hollingsworth, Roy (21 July 1973). "Thank you for the days, Ray". ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

''. and at the show's conclusion, as pretaped music played on the sound system, declared his retirement from the group. He subsequently collapsed after a drug overdose and was rushed to hospital.George, Chris (27 August 1994). "The Kitchen Sink Kink". ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. He would eventually recover and return to recording with The Kinks. At a

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother, Shirley Jones), in t ...

show on 26 May 1974, 800 people were injured in a crush at the front of the stage. Thirty were taken to hospital, and one, 14-year-old Bernadette Whelan, died on 30 May from injuries.

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". T ...

made a song about the stadium and its demolition, called "White City". It can be found on their 1989 album '' Peace and Love''.

References

Sources

External links

White City Stadium and BBC radio

White City Development - History

Article on Betfair.com *
/BBC Sport 1908 Olympics in photos

Aerial view of stadium in 1933
from the

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

"Britain from Above" archive {{English greyhound tracks Buildings and structures demolished in 1985 Defunct athletics (track and field) venues in England Defunct football venues in London Defunct rugby league venues in England Demolished buildings and structures in London 1966 FIFA World Cup stadiums Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham History of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Sports venues completed in 1908 Venues of the 1908 Summer Olympics 1985 disestablishments in England

Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Defunct rugby union venues in England Defunct speedway venues in England Stadiums of the Commonwealth Games Queens Park Rangers F.C. Olympic archery venues Olympic athletics venues Olympic diving venues Olympic field hockey venues Olympic football venues Olympic swimming venues Olympic cycling venues Olympic gymnastics venues Olympic rugby union venues Olympic water polo venues Defunct sports venues in London

Stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

English Football League venues 1908 establishments in England Defunct greyhound racing venues in London Defunct football venues in England