Chelsea v Manchester United
The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON
The Final
3pm, Saturday 19 May 2007
Wembley Stadium
Order your programme

We can confirm the details of the opening ceremony that will take place at Wembley before The FA Cup Final on Saturday, with fans going to the game being encouraged to arrive as early as they can.

Turnstiles open at midday and the pre-match entertainment starts at 1.30pm. Wembley Stadium are reminding fans to only use public transport - all routes can be found by clicking here.

The FA Cup Final opening ceremony is in keeping with tradition and will be watched by hundreds of millions of people around the world. It includes chief guest HRH Prince William, The Red Arrows, the hymn Abide With Me and Wembley winners from the last 50 years - a full list of these legends will be revealed on Friday.

In almost chronological order:
  • Marching band Corps of the Royal Engineers [who won the cup in 1875] will play a selection of classic songs
  • Big screen footage will show both clubs' Road to Wembley.
  • Veteran broadcaster Des Lynam will PA parts of the day and speak to Wembley legends Sir Bob Geldof, Sir Henry Cooper and Sir Geoff Hurst.
  • Players will go for the traditional walk around and warm-ups on the pitch.
  • Local Brent schoolchildren will parade the colours of the 72 teams who have won The Cup between 1923 and 2000
  • The big screens will show classic footage from past Finals
  • FA Cup Wembley winners from the last 50 years will be introduced to the crowd in the build up to kick-off
  • A musical heliosphere routine and giant team crests will be revealed
  • Abide with Me will be sung by Sarah Brightman and Lesley Garrett
  • FA President HRH Prince William is chief guest and will receive The Cup from armed forces veterans
  • The Red Arrows will do a simultaneous fly-past overhead
  • Teams will enter led by their managers - they will shake hands with the official FA Party including HRH
  • Russell Watson will sing the national anthem
  • Both teams will climb the 107 steps to the Royal Box at the end of the game to collect their medals and for the winners to receive The FA Cup

You can follow all the build-up to The Final on TheFA.com this week, you can also pre-order your copy of The FA Cup Final match programme, click here.