The Millennium Stadium welcomed the chairman of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame, Lord Brooks of Tremorfa, to the iconic venue this week to unveil part of the organisation’s collection of memorabilia which will be displayed on the Stadium’s public tours from November 2009.
The national stadium of Wales will become the permanent home to several distinctive pieces from the hundreds of sporting artefacts belonging to WSHF’s tribute to legends of sport in Wales currently housed at the Museum of Welsh Life at St Fagans in Cardiff – collecting sporting achievements old and new under the world-renowned roof of the home of Welsh rugby.
At an unveiling ceremony in the Millennium Stadium, Lord Brooks and his colleague Geoff Bray, secretary of the charitable organisation WSHF, thanked the Welsh Rugby Union Group for their support and discussed a country rich with sporting heritage, here in Wales.
“We are the only multisport collection in the world, as far as I know, and I am delighted that the Welsh Rugby Union has agreed to be part of the tremendous story we have to tell,” Lord Brooks said.
Secretary Geoff Bray said: “We are very pleased indeed that the Welsh Rugby Union is able to accommodate our displays. We have many hundreds of artefacts from the different sports and sports people over the last hundred years and we really want the public to be able to see how proud we are of our sporting history.
“The cabinets at the Millennium Stadium accommodate a great sample of pieces such as Paulo Radmillovic’s Olympic Games 1912 blazer, the gloves signed by Joe Calzaghe at this title WBO Super Middleweight fight and items of Welsh Rugby memorabilia. They have been put there to be enjoyed by the visiting public and will be changed periodically.”
WRU head of communications John Williams said: “We are delighted that the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame has chosen to bring their collection of memorabilia to the Millennium Stadium, which has welcomed a host of sporting legends to Cardiff since its inception ten years ago.
“The artefacts will boost the popular Millennium Stadium tours experience and we hope to add to the collection as our relationship with the organisation continues to grow.”
In the past WSHF has co-operated with the National Portrait Gallery, London in its exhibition of British Sporting Heroes (1998/99) and the Sports Council for Wales at the Royal Welsh Show (2004).
Lord Brooks, former vice-chairman and president of the British Boxing Board of Control, paid tribute to undefeated boxing world champion Joe Calzaghe who defeated Mikkel Kessler in the super middleweight bout at the Millennium Stadium in November 2007: “I think that Joe Calzaghe is the best fighter that Britain has produced since the last War.”
“Of all the sports that come together in the Hall of Fame collection, my favourite of course is boxing and we have a terrific record of memorabilia in that sport.”
Tickets for the popular Millennium Stadium tours which will incorporate WSHF memorabilia the are on sale now via the Millennium Stadium website: www.millenniumstadium.com, via telephone: 02920822228 or email: [email protected].
