World Cup Sculpture
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''The World Cup Sculpture'', or simply ''The Champions'', is a bronze statue of the 1966 World Cup Final located near the site of West Ham United Football Club's former
Boleyn Ground The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium located in Upton Park, east London. It was the home of West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic in the early 1990s during their years ...
(Upton Park) stadium in the London Borough of Newham, England. It depicts a famous victory scene photographed after the final, held at the old Wembley Stadium in London, featuring Bobby Moore,
Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley S ...
,
Martin Peters Martin Stanford Peters (8 November 1943 – 21 December 2019) was an English footballer and manager. As a member of the England team which won the 1966 FIFA World Cup, he scored the second of England's four goals in the final against West Germa ...
and Ray Wilson. It remains the only time the
England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...
have won the
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
, and England captain Moore is pictured held shoulder high by his colleagues, holding the
Jules Rimet Trophy The World Cup is a solid gold trophy that is awarded to the winners of the FIFA World Cup association football tournament. Since the advent of the World Cup in 1930, two trophies have been used: the Jules Rimet Trophy from 1930 to 1970, before ...
aloft. Jointly commissioned by Newham Council and West Ham United, the statue stands at the junction of Barking Road and Green Street, near the former location of the Boleyn Ground. It commemorates West Ham's contribution to the victory, with Moore, Hurst and Peters having all been West Ham players at the time of the
1966 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 ...
. Sculpted by the Royal Sculptor Philip Jackson, it was unveiled in 2003 by
Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...
, president of
the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
. Jackson went on to also sculpt the statue of Bobby Moore unveiled at the new Wembley when it opened in 2007.


Statue

The work, titled by Jackson as ''The Champions'' or ''The World Cup Sculpture'', is a one-and-a-half times life-size bronze piece, tall, weighing four tonnes. It stands in a prominent location at the junction of Barking Road (the A124) and Green Street in the London Borough of Newham, close to the former home stadium of West Ham, the Boleyn Ground (commonly called Upton Park).


Inspiration

The statue was inspired by the victory scenes in the immediate aftermath of the 1966 World Cup final. Moore, Hurst, Peters and Wilson had just been part of the England side which defeated West Germany in a famous 4–2 extra time victory over Germany in the final held on home soil, at the old 1923 built Wembley stadium (since replaced by the new
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 original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
opened in 2007). In that final, Moore was the team captain and a central defender, while Wilson served as full back alongside him. Peters in midfield, and Hurst as one of the strikers, were the England goalscorers on the day of the final, with Hurst scoring the first goal in the first half, Peters scoring in the second half, and Hurst scoring two more in extra time to complete a famous World Cup hat-trick and secure victory. Jackson used as his subject material a series of photographs taken during a 12-second period after the game. In a scene described by the Football Association as "one of the enduring post-match images", Moore was pictured holding the Jules Rimet World Cup Trophy jubilantly above his head, while he himself is being held shoulder high by Hurst and Wilson, while Peters completes the scene. Jackson exercised some artistic license to not depict Ray Wilson's expression entirely accurately, as in reality he had been grimacing in the photo due to taking most of Moore's weight, stating "I didn't think he would mind". Wilson, described by the FA as a "normally reserved" man, later remarked of the events depicted, "Nearly all the other players were off celebrating around the pitch and they just needed someone to help lift Bobby, otherwise I would not have been there, believe me. I'd have been doing my own celebrating"


History


Commissioning

The statue was commissioned jointly by West Ham United and
Newham London Borough Council Newham London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a di ...
, where the club resides. At the time of the final, Moore, Hurst and Peters were all West Ham players, while Wilson was with Everton F.C. The statue was the idea of Newham councillor Graeme Cambage. He said of the project after the unveiling, "After Bobby Moore died, I thought there ought to be a statue of him but it's taken a long time to realise my dream". The statue cost £725,000 in all, with £400,000 coming from a Government grant, and the bulk of the remainder from the football club. The cost included associated street improvements. Contributions also came from the Green Street Single Regeneration Budget, the Arts Council for England, and Arts & Business.


Production

The project was announced on 18 October 2001 by Newham Council leader Sir Robin Wales and West Ham chairman Terry Brown, during a ceremony at
Newham Town Hall Newham Town Hall, formerly East Ham Town Hall, is a municipal building in Barking Road, East Ham, London. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Newham London Borough Council, is a Grade II* listed building. History In the early 20th cen ...
at which Hurst, Peters and Wilson viewed a miniature model of the proposed statue. The statue itself took a year to complete.


Unveiling

The statue was unveiled on 28 April 2003 by Prince Andrew, Duke of York, president of the Football Association. The plan to have the Duke of York unveil the statue was announced on 24 February 2003, on the tenth anniversary of Moore's death from cancer, aged 51. Hurst, Peters and Wilson were joined by Moore's widow Stephanie at the unveiling. In the midst of a public campaign to give Moore the recognition of a British honour, rarely given posthumously, Prince Andrew inadvertently referred to Moore as "Sir Bobby" during the ceremony.


Proposed move

When West Ham departed Upton Park for the
London Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is located ...
in 2016, it was proposed that the statue be moved to a site in the
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City developm ...
. However, difficulties in gaining the approval of all the concerned parties led to a reversal of the decision, with Newham Council announcing in 2018 that the statue would remain in its original location. As a result, in August 2020 West Ham announced the commissioning of a new statue for the London Stadium, featuring Moore, Hurst and Peters in a similar pose, this time from the night of the club's victory in the
1965 European Cup Winners' Cup Final The 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match between West Ham United of England and 1860 Munich of West Germany. The final was held at Wembley Stadium in London on 19 May 1965. It was the final match of the 1964–65 European Cu ...
.


Reception

Paul Hayward, writing in ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' in 2003, described it as "stunning", and that it "radiates golden light and transforms a mundane road junction into a shrine both to England's finest hour and West Ham's contribution to the game in these isles". Mick Dennis, writing for the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...
'', was critical of the work, stating the statues did not resemble the players.


See also

* List of public art in the London Borough of Newham


References


External links


360 degree view from the statue

view panning upwards from the base
{{Philip Jackson England at the 1966 FIFA World Cup 2003 sculptures Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Newham Monuments and memorials in London Outdoor sculptures in London West Ham United F.C. Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Newham Bronze sculptures in London Sculptures by Philip Jackson Statues in England Statues of sportspeople Bobby Moore Association football sculptures Sports culture in the United Kingdom East Ham Cultural depictions of Bobby Moore