Twickenham Stadium



Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000. This makes it the second largest stadium in the UK after Wembley Stadium and the fourth largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is the home of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), and as such primarily a venue for rugby union and hosts England's home test matches, as well as the Middlesex Sevens, the Aviva Premiership final, the LV Cup and Heineken Cup matches. The stadium is considered an icon of English rugby and the 2009/2010 season saw Twickenham celebrate its centenary. The 100th anniversary of the first international at HQ in 1910 was marked by the England team wearing a special commemorative shirt against Wales on February 6 and by a centenary book called Twickenham – 100 Years of Rugby's HQ.

Although the ground is usually only occupied by rugby union, it has in the past hosted a number of other events, such as concerts by Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, Genesis, U2, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Eagles and most recently R.E.M. It has also been the host of Rugby League's Challenge Cup final. The stadium has also been used annually for over 50 years to host Conventions of Jehovah's Witnesses.