1966 World Cup final to air in colour for first time before England’s Euro final
England’s 1966 World Cup final win over West Germany will be broadcast in all its full coloured glory for the first time on Saturday.
The Three Lions will end their 55-year wait for another appearance in the final of a major tournament on Sunday when they suit up against Italy for the Euro 2020 decider.
Despite not being a broadcast partner for this summer’s European Championship, Channel 4 is doing its part to drum up national pride ahead of Sunday’s Wembley showdown.
Audiences in the United Kingdom will be able to watch the full-length, colourised coverage of England’s 4-2 win against their fierce rivals from 5.40 pm on July 10.
As well as being famed for England’s most famous football victory, the 1966 World Cup final is also noted for one of the sport’s most controversial goals.
The two teams ended the 90 minutes with two apiece at the Old Wembley, but two extra-time goals saw Sir Geoff Hurst complete his hat-trick, the only one to date scored in a World Cup final.
England’s third goal saw Hurst’s strike bounce off the crossbar and onto the line, awarded by referee Gottfried Dienst despite little clarity as to whether all the ball had crossed over.
A fourth in the 120th minute helped put the result beyond doubt, leading to commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme’s famous line: “Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over! It is now, it's four!”
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Hero Hurst has said he’s looking forward to the broadcast, which will be a welcome first for fans: “Can’t wait to see the Channel 4 broadcast – other than those at Wembley on the day, no-one has ever seen the match in colour before.”
Black-and-white photographs from the day have been updated to give modern-day audiences a better feel for the occasion, but this will be the first time the full match is shown as it would have looked live.
Channel 4’s head of sport, Pete Andrews, said: “I can’t think of a better way to prepare for Sunday’s final than watching England’s ’66 World Cup Final in full colour for the first time ever. It was the last time ‘football came home’ but hopefully that won’t be the case come Sunday evening.
“We’re really pleased to be part of this important legacy project to restore the ’66 Final to full colour, I’m sure football fans will relish seeing it in all its glory.”
The 1966 World Cup final remains the UK’s most-watched television event after 32.3million tuned in to see England emerge as victors at Wembley.
More than 27m people in the UK watched the Three Lions beat Denmark 2-1 in extra time on Wednesday to reach the final, with Sunday’s duel expected to challenge for the all-time record.
Roberto Mancini has led Italy on a national team record of 33 games unbeaten, but England hope to break their streak to end their 55-year title curse in London.
UK company Final Replay are responsible for the newly restored footage of the ‘66 final, with help from specialists in New Zealand, India, London and the United States.
Executive producer Neil Canetty-Clarke said: “It’s been a privilege to work on the ‘66 World Cup Final. Thank you to the talented people across four continents who have restored and colourised all 200,000 frames in time for the 55th anniversary of the match.”
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