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manchesterpaul

120,000 Attendance World Final - True Or False

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The recent publication of the photograph of Kelly Moran standing on the parade against a backdrop of an immense crowd at the 1979 World Final seeks me to try and get confirmation of something i have always held as fact. Namely, was the attendance at that meeting as high as the oft mentioned 120,000 (or even higher! i remember at the time 130,000 being quoted).

 

Can anybody form Poland or elsewhere confirm the crowd size?. If i can ascertain that it was indeed the case, i will certainly be editing the Wikipedia page that lists the highest attendances for sporting events in the world. Although a Wiki page regarding the actual stadium does say 'Silesian Stadium also known as the National Stadium (Polish: Stadion Śląski or Stadion Narodowy) is a sport stadium located between Chorzów and Katowice, Silesia, Poland. It opened on 22 July 1956 and has since hosted crowds of over 120,000 for both football matches and motorcycle speedway world championships. It also hosts music festivals.' the meeting is strikingly absent from the aforementioned all time biggest attendances list page.

 

 

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MP yes according to the official website the attendance record IS 120'000.

 

Attendance record - 120,000 spectators at Chorzow "stutysięczniku" died Sept. 18, 1963, when Gornik Zabrze meeting was played in the UEFA European Cup with Austria Vienna (1-0). That the audience has never sat on the object. Reconstruction and stringent security requirements significantly reduced the proportion of seats.

 

 

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MP yes according to the official website the attendance record IS 120'000.

 

 

120,000 for one meeting. How does that equate to the overall attendances throughout the season in the UK? Does it get anywhere near that - how many do attend during the season in the UK? :unsure:

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I think it's the 1973 World Final at Katowice (won by Jerzy Szczakiel) that holds the attendance record.

 

All the best

Rob

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I was at both meetings...in those days..1970's it was the era of state Communism..everything was run by the State Party. Many workers in Katowice were from the many Coal mines,steel works...and on both occassions the entire work force and family's were taken to the event in trucks/buses..totally free as a gift from the state.

 

You must also remember at that time there was nothing to do on a Sunday, except Church..or sometimes Speedway.

 

It was a massive arena..and Poland in those days was extremely intimidating for the small groups of "Western" fans.

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I think it's the 1973 World Final at Katowice (won by Jerzy Szczakiel) that holds the attendance record.

 

All the best

Rob

 

To confuse matters further, i now recall where i strongly remember the quotation of 120,000. It was the 1976 (lol) final, i recall it because i can still visualise the left hand side of the front page of the Daily Mirror reporting Peter Collins triumph. Oh well, maybe they always got 120,000 for the world finals :)

 

That in turn brings back another memory, i like many others (one hell of a lot in those days for Belle Vue) were tuning in to the local tv news programme the next day at teatime awaiting some sort of coverage. It got nearer and nearer to the end of the 30 minutes without a single mention and then hurriedly, just as the credits were starting to roll, one of the presenters blurted out 'congratulations to the speedway DRIVER Peter Collins who won the world title yesterday'. It turns out their switchboard was being bombarded with an ever increasing number of irate calls the closer to the end of the programme.

Edited by manchesterpaul

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It was a massive arena..and Poland in those days was extremely intimidating for the small groups of "Western" fans.

 

... and Russians!!

 

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MP yes according to the official website the attendance record IS 120'000.

 

But the official Stadium website clearly states that this attendance record of 120,000 was for a UEFA Cup football match between Gornik Zabrze and Austria Vienna on 18 September 1963.

 

I seem to remember having read that the attendances at the 1973, 1976 and 1979 world finals were all below or near the 100,000 mark. The figures of 120 or 130 thousand as given in the British press at the time were much exaggerated, but the real numbers of close to a hundred thousand people attending a speedway meeting are still very impressive.

 

 

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But the official Stadium website clearly states that this attendance record of 120,000 was for a UEFA Cup football match between Gornik Zabrze and Austria Vienna on 18 September 1963.

 

I seem to remember having read that the attendances at the 1973, 1976 and 1979 world finals were all below or near the 100,000 mark. The figures of 120 or 130 thousand as given in the British press at the time were much exaggerated, but the real numbers of close to a hundred thousand people attending a speedway meeting are still very impressive.

 

i know but i didnt notice that he meant the speedway event until later and then i was to lazy to change my post :P

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