Experience the new Emirates Stadium Tour –
Hear it from Heroes. See it for yourself
Emdad Rahman:
Arsenal Football Club has launched a new tour which enables supporters to take a self-guided visit behind the scenes at the state-of-the-art Emirates Stadium. The UK’s first self-guided stadium tour is available in English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.
With 2012 providing a multitude of reasons for tourists to visit the capital, the Club is looking to reach out to domestic and international visitors as well as Arsenal fans in order to increase stadium tour visits.
Having moved from a guided to self-guided tour, the Club can offer an increased capacity meaning visitors can buy a pass and choose which day and time to arrive or simply pay on arrival at the stadium. A simplified e-ticketing system also includes a gift voucher option. Operating seven days a week (apart from matchdays) the tours are flexible in length, between 55 and 90 minutes.
Let Robin van Persie, Jack Wilshere and a host of Arsenal stars share their match-day experiences with you as you explore behind-the-scenes at Arsenal with new audio tour. Hear from the boss as you take your place in the changing room, listen to the roar of the crowd as you walk down the tunnel, explore our museum and test your Arsenal knowledge against one of our Arsenal experts. Plus much more.
We visited the Emirates recently and were taken on a very grand tour led by glittering Arsenal legend Charlie George. It was a toss up between George and Perry Groves, and we chose the man who scored that fantastic winner in the 1971 FA Cup final against Liverpool.
Apart from being tour guide, Charlie spoke about his thoughts on the current team, his playing days and news from the inner sanctum of Arsenal Football Club. His pitching, delivery and banter was second to none and kept us all thoroughly entertained throughout the hour.
The Arsenal legend stressed the importance of keeping healthy. He said: “Get your kids out on a bit of green with a ball. The benefits are endless. Football’s a simple game, it’s the greatest sport in the world.”
Halfway through the tour my youngest let slip that I was a Liverpool fan. Naturally, George had to be on his guard. After all we also had a Jimmy Greaves on the guest list too.
We saw the buried time capsule, visited the directors lounge, strolled through the players tunnel and posed pitchside. I also grimaced at a framed picture of Michael Thomas’ unforgettable goal at Anfield in 1989.
Lucky participants also received a personalised signed photo of the Legend and a limited edition Legends Tour gift
The Arsenal Legends currently taking tours include:
1971 FA Cup hero Charlie George Arsenal centurion and Double winner John Radford 1979 FA Cup hero Sammy Nelson 1970 European Fairs Cup final goal hero Eddie Kelly 1987 League Cup winning captain, Kenny Sansom Ccult hero and 1989 League winner, Perry Groves Plus Legendary right back, Lee Dixon.
The Arsenal Museum
Both self-guided and Legend tours includes a trip to the spectacular, interactive Arsenal Museum which includes exclusive exhibits including Michael Thomas’ boots from Anfield ’89, Charlie George’s 1971 FA Cup final shirt and Alan Smith’s shirt from 1994’s European Cup Winners Cup Final.
The self-guided stadium tour is available in English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese and is developed in association with imagineear, leaders in building and delivering outstanding audio and multimedia tours for cultural clients worldwide, the tour provides a glimpse behind the scenes with audio-visual handsets displaying action clips and interviews. Apart from captain and Dutch international Robin van Persie and England international Jack Wilshere, Arsène Wenger offers exclusive match day insights while tour hosts en route offer additional insights and Arsenal expertise.
Arsenal’s head of marketing, Charles Allen said: “The new-look audio stadium tours will really help us to engage with so many more supporters and visitors to London outside matchdays, at a time when interest in the Premier League and capital is increasing thanks to the Queen’s Jubilee and the 2012 Olympics. The revised tours are part of continued work to make the stadium more of a destination with various initiatives, including fan stories around the stadium and the Spirit of Highbury image of players and managers who appeared at our old Highbury home. We have more plans for the future and it is all designed to bring this fantastic club to life.”
Tours run from 10am until 5pm, seven days a week (except matchdays). Self-guided tour passes are priced £9 for under-16s and £17.50 adults including access to the Arsenal Museum. Legend Tours guided by former Arsenal stars including Charlie George, Perry Groves and Lee Dixon are priced £18 for under-16s and £35 adults. Family entry for two adults and two under-16s is priced £42. Visit www.arsenal.com/tours for further information.
For further information on Arsenal Stadium Tours please contact:
Katie Baldwin, Arsenal Communications Department 020 7704 4010 email communications@arsenal.co.uk