Plaque

Presumably before the bridge was created the Wembley crowds had to cross the A4089 at road level to get from the station to the Stadium. The 1993 bridge created a long tunnel under the road for them forming part of the Olympic Way - a long, wide walkway. Brent Council and Wembley Stadium commissioned a series of tile murals to line the tunnel. Then, starting in 2004, major upgrades to the station and Olympic Way shortened that tunnel so that its description as a bridge is more appropriate, and the environment is much more pleasant.

In 2013 Brent agreed an advertising lease that resulted in the murals being hidden. A campaign resulted in one panel (photographed here) being put back on public display in 2019. That lease comes up for renewal in August 2024 and there is a campaign to restrict the lease so that the remaining murals are no longer hidden.

The murals which may be uncovered depict scenes from the sports and entertainment heritage of Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena: The 1948 Olympic torch being carried by an athlete in front of an Olympic flag; the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team; the Horse of the Year Show; Michael Jackson in hat-tipping pose at a 1980s concert. Some of the murals were destroyed in the 2006 upgrade works but we don’t know which.

Our photo shows the one panel which is visible (2023) under the bridge. There is also another longer panel of tile mural to the right of this one.

Sources include: My London which has photos of some of the hidden murals. Nowhere can we find the name of the artist(s) that created these artworks.