Battle of the bridge commences

Wembley Stadium Station's FootbridgeLive Aid and Billy the White Horse have been named alongside three of England's 1966 World Cup heroes in the battle to name a state-of-the-art footbridge being built in Wembley that will connect the new national stadium to the town centre.

The London Development Agency (LDA) received more than 670,000 suggestions for the bridge's name, including many from fans in rival countries seeking to hijack the competition. But a three-strong panel rejected overseas pressure in favour of five names characterising Wembley's long, varied and glorious history.

The LDA has teamed up with BBC Radio Five Live for the vote, which begins today - exactly a year before the stadium opens for the 2006 FA Cup Final. Voting will be online at BBC Radio Five Live and runs throughout the last week of the football season to midnight on 22nd May. The winner will be announced on Five Live Breakfast on Monday 23rd May.

• Further information about the bridge and the competition

The five names are:

• Sir Alf Ramsey - As England manager for 12 years and 113 matches, he masterminded England's greatest footballing triumph - winning the World Cup at Wembley in 1966. The late Sir Alf was heralded for his dignity and the groundbreaking tactics that helped to lift the cup.
• Sir Bobby Charlton - A great player and a true ambassador for the sport, Sir Bobby scored the two goals that put England into the World Cup final. He scored a record 49 times for England in 106 games, but is equally hailed for his sense of fair play.
• Sir Geoff Hurst - England hero Sir Geoff is the only man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, the third ballooning in the back of the German net to the immortal words "They think it's all over... it is now". Scored 248 goals in 499 games for West Ham
• The White Horse - A Wembley legend. 250,000 people swarmed into the stadium, crowding onto the pitch for the first Wembley Cup Final in 1923, before PC George Scorey and Billy the White Horse rode on to restore order. It became known as the White Horse Cup Final.
• Live Aid - Twenty years ago - 13th July 1985 to be exact - an estimated 1.8 billion people worldwide tuned in to watch the marathon concert at Wembley to raise money for famine victims in Africa. A defining moment not just in the history of the stadium, but of the world.

BBC Five Live listeners will have the chance to hear the names debated and championed throughout next week.

One notable name missing from the list is 1966 World Cup captain Bobby Moore. There is already a Bobby Moore bridge near Wembley Park tube - named in September 1993 - and further tributes to the England legend are planned.

The three panellists - BBC Five Live's Jonathan Pearce, LDA executive director Tony Winterbottom and Wembley Stadium's chief executive Michael Cunnah - argued their way through the nominations, but were unanimous on excluding the most-nominated name: Dietmar Hamann. The shortlist is therefore likely to infuriate German fans, as well as those in Scotland, Australia, Ireland, Wales and New Zealand, where fans also ran concerted campaign to promote their heroes.

Tony Winterbottom said: "This iconic bridge will be part of an incredible development - the best stadium in the world surrounded by a transformed area with new homes, jobs, leisure and retail. Some of the names - from Jim Baxter to the 'Jonah Lomu walkover' - commemorate great sportsmen, but have been nominated for what they've done against England sides. That's a negative. For something this positive and this important, we need a name that celebrates success."

Jonathan Pearce said: "It wasn't easy deciding the shortlist and some great names had to be left out, but these five all deserve to be commemorated. This is going to be a tough vote - but at last this is an election to fire the public imagination."

Michael Cunnah said: "The 1966 World Cup was such an important moment in this nation's sporting history, it is fitting that three of the heroes of the day are on the shortlist. Sir Bob Geldof's Live Aid was a phenomenal occasion and is a reminder that the stadium is about more than football. And for the purists and history lovers, we had to include the White Horse."

The LDA website was stretched beyond capacity for the first round of the naming competition as 670,000 people made nominations and millions more logged on to the site. As the debate raged, the bridge's name became the subject of Parliamentary motions in both Westminster and Edinburgh, and people have even demanded details under the Freedom of Information Act.

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has played a major role in driving forward the new national stadium and developments around it, and through his LDA and Transport for London is investing more than £120m in the Wembley area. Alongside major public transport improvements, this includes building the footbridge, a new town square, contributing to the stadium project itself, business support and training to help people take advantage of new job opportunities.

Some of the other names nominated by the public were:

Alan Shearer, David Beckham, Billy the Fish, Bob Geldof, Jack Charlton or 'Charlton', Bridge 66, David Seaman, Dietmar Hamann, Eric Cantona Kung-Foo, Gazza 96, Give us our turf back, Jim Baxter, John Barnes, John Eales, Jonah Lomu - Walk Over, Lawrie Sanchez, Lineker Link, Mandela, Maradonna, My teacher told the class to call it 'Scott Gibbs Bridge', but please don't, Not the James Baxter Bridge, Offiah, Pele, Roy Keane, Scott Gibbs, Stanley Matthews, Stuart Pearce, They Think it's all Over Bridge, Thierry Henry, Three Lions, Tofik Bakhramov, Trevor Brooking, Twin Towers, Viv Anderson and Wayne Bridge.

For further information: contact Oliver Roberts at the London Development Agency on 020 7954 4206, or Andrew Bate, Radio Five Live on 020 8576 1694.

Notes to Editors:

Wembley Stadium is currently being redeveloped by Wembley National Stadium Limited (WNSL) into the world's leading sport and music venue. Offering 90,000 fans unrivalled views of the action in state-of the art facilities whilst generating an unbeatable atmosphere, WNSL will set new standards for supporters and performers alike.

• www.wembleystadium.com

The new national stadium - opening this time next year for The FA Cup Final on 13th May 2006 - is helping to stimulate major regeneration of the surrounding area, including extensive improvements to the three stations that will increase capacity by 50 per cent. Approximately 70,000 people an hour will be able to get to Wembley Stadium by coach, rail and tube thanks to the improved transport infrastructure.

The London Development Agency is the Mayor's agency for business and jobs. It is co-funding London's Bid for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012 as part of its commitment to the regeneration of the capital. The LDA prepares the Mayor's business plan for London and mobilises the support and resources of hundreds of partner organisations to help build a thriving economy for London's people, businesses and communities. It is dedicated to improving sustainability, health and equality of opportunity for Londoners.