Twickenham Stadium facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Twickenham Stadium

Billy Williams' Cabbage Patch The Cabbage Patch Twickers Headquarters HQ
Aerial view of Twickenham Stadium in 2009
Location	200 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex TW2 7BA
Coordinates	51°27′22″N 0°20′30″W / 51.45611°N 0.34167°W / 51.45611; -0.34167
Public transit	Twickenham
Owner	Rugby Football Union
Executive suites	150
Capacity	82,000 (rugby) 75,000 (American football)
Field size	125 m x 70 m
Surface	Desso GrassMaster
Construction
Built	1907; 118 years ago (1907)
Opened	2 October 1909; 115 years ago (1909-10-02)
Architect	John Bradley
Tenants
England national rugby union team

Twickenham Stadium, often called Twickenham or Twickers, is a famous rugby stadium in south-west London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), which is the main group for rugby union in England. The stadium is also the RFU's main office.

This stadium is the home ground for the England national rugby union team. They play almost all their home games here. Twickenham is the biggest stadium in the world made just for rugby. It is also the second largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Wembley Stadium. It is the fourth largest stadium in Europe.

Many other rugby games happen at Twickenham. These include some matches from Premiership Rugby and the Anglo-Welsh Cup. The yearly the Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge universities is also played here. Some big European rugby games, like the European Rugby Champions Cup, also take place at Twickenham.

Besides rugby, Twickenham has hosted other events. It has held rugby league finals and American football games as part of the NFL London Games. Many famous music artists have also performed concerts here, including Rihanna, Iron Maiden, U2, Beyoncé, The Rolling Stones, and Lady Gaga.

The Home of England Rugby

Twickenham is known as "the Home of England Rugby." The Rugby Football Union (RFU) owns and runs the stadium. It hosts rugby union matches all year round. The English national rugby team plays almost all their home games here.

Twickenham is where England plays its home matches in the Six Nations Championship. It also hosts games against visiting teams from the Southern Hemisphere, usually in November each year.

Many other important rugby games are played at Twickenham. It hosts the yearly London Sevens tournament. This is part of the World Rugby Sevens Series. The stadium also holds the final matches for the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series and the local Middlesex Sevens competition.

It is the venue for the Premiership Rugby final. Other events include the season-starting London Double Header and the Big Game. Finals for the Anglo-Welsh Cup and European Rugby Champions Cup have also been held here. The stadium also hosts the The Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge universities. It is also where the English schools' Daily Mail Cup Final and the Army Navy Match take place.

Stadium History

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) decided to buy their own stadium after seeing how popular games were at Crystal Palace. In 1907, two RFU members, William Williams and William Cail, helped buy a piece of land in Twickenham. It cost £5,500.

This land used to be a market garden where cabbages were grown. That's why Twickenham Stadium is sometimes called "the Cabbage Patch." The first stands were built in 1908. The very first game was played on October 2, 1909, between Harlequins and Richmond.

The first international match was between England and Wales on January 15, 1910. At that time, the stadium could hold 20,000 people. During World War I, the ground was used for grazing animals. In 1921, King George V unveiled a war memorial there.

Starting An Attack, painting of the England v Wales rugby union match at Twickenham in 1931

In 1926, the first Middlesex Sevens tournament was held at Twickenham. The first The Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge universities took place here in 1927. On March 19, 1938, the BBC Television showed the England versus Scotland match live from Twickenham. This was the first time a rugby game was shown live on TV.

In 1959, to celebrate 50 years of the stadium, a special game was played. A team of players from England and Wales played against a team from Ireland and Scotland.

A famous moment happened in 1988 during a game between England and Ireland. England was losing at half-time but then played amazingly well. They scored six tries and won 35–3. During this game, the song "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" became a popular song for England fans to sing. This happened when Chris Oti, a fast player, scored three tries. Students from a nearby school started singing the song, and soon the whole stadium joined in.

The interior Twickenham Stadium in 2012

Twickenham was one of the stadiums used for the 1991 Rugby World Cup. It hosted some of England's matches and the final game. In the final, Australia beat England 12–6.

The stadium also hosted some games during the 1999 Rugby World Cup. This included some of England's matches and two semi-final games. From 1999 to 2004, England had a great record at Twickenham. They went 19 matches without losing at home. This made the stadium known as 'Fortress Twickenham'.

In 2005, a special rugby match called the IRB Rugby Aid Match was played at Twickenham. It raised money for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Teams from the Northern and Southern hemispheres played against each other.

Rugby World Cup Matches

Twickenham Stadium has hosted many Rugby World Cup matches. This includes games in 1991, 1999, and 2015. When England hosted the World Cup in 1991 and 2015, Twickenham held the final match. In 1999, it also hosted semi-final games. One famous semi-final was when France beat New Zealand 43–31. Many people remember this as one of the best rugby matches ever.

1991 Rugby World Cup Games

1999 Rugby World Cup Games

2015 Rugby World Cup Games

Other Events at Twickenham

An Iron Maiden concert in 2008.

Even though Twickenham is mainly for rugby, it has hosted many other events. In 2000, it held its first rugby league game. Australia played against England in the opening game of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. The Rugby League Challenge Cup Final has also been played here twice.

Because of delays in building Wembley Stadium, some events planned for Wembley were moved to Twickenham. This included the Challenge Cup and concerts by The Rolling Stones. The Rolling Stones also played two shows at Twickenham in 2003.

Many other famous bands have played concerts at Twickenham. Genesis played there in 2007. The Police and Rod Stewart also performed in 2007. R.E.M. played in 2008, and Bon Jovi had two shows in 2008. Iron Maiden also performed in 2008.

Lady Gaga had two sold-out concerts at the stadium in September 2012. Over 100,000 people attended both shows. The first show sold out in just 50 seconds, which was a record for a stadium show in the UK. Rihanna also performed two shows in June 2013.

Since the 1950s, Twickenham has hosted the yearly convention for Jehovah's Witnesses in the London area. Up to 25,000 people attend these events to hear Bible talks. The TV show Top Gear also used the pitch for a rugby game played with cars before the field was redone.

Concerts Held at Twickenham

American Football Games

In 2015, the RFU and America's National Football League (NFL) made a deal. Twickenham Stadium would host at least three NFL London Games over three years. The first game was in October 2016.

On October 23, 2016, the Los Angeles Rams played against the New York Giants at Twickenham. This game was shown live on TV in the UK. Two more games were played in 2017.

NFL London Games at Twickenham Stadium
Year	Date	UK Broadcaster	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Attendance	Pre-game show
2016	23 October	BBC	Los Angeles Rams	10–17	New York Giants	74,121	Craig David
2017	22 October	Sky Sports	Los Angeles Rams	33–0	Arizona Cardinals	73,736
	29 October	BBC	Cleveland Browns	16–33	Minnesota Vikings	74,237

Twickenham Stadium (center) and Stoop Stadium (top right) from the north in August 2015

World Rugby Museum

The World Rugby Union Museum is located inside Twickenham Stadium. This museum tells the story of rugby from all over the world, not just English rugby. It shows the history of the sport using interactive displays.

The museum has special exhibitions that change over time. These shows cover different topics and display unique items from the collection. Some special items include an English rugby jersey from the very first international rugby game in 1871. This game was between England and Scotland.

You can also take tours of Twickenham Stadium through the museum. These tours usually run four times a day from Tuesday to Saturday, and twice on Sundays. The museum is usually open every day except Mondays. On match days, people with tickets can get into the museum at a special price.

See also

In Spanish: Estadio de Twickenham para niños