July 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 8 JULY 2021
#fullcolour66
CHANNEL 4 TO BROADCAST THE 1966 WORLD CUP FINAL
IN FULL COLOUR FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER
- Entire match has been painstakingly restored to colour
- Channel 4 to broadcast 1966 World Cup Final as live at 5.40pm on Saturday
Channel 4 will broadcast the whole of the 1966 World Cup Final between England and West Germany in full colour, for the first time in history.
The channel will air the match as live at 5.40pm on Saturday 10 July 2021 and recapture the magic of England’s greatest sporting achievement … so far! Football fans across the UK and Ireland will be able to watch free-to-air, for the first time ever in colour, the full-length match when England beat West Germany 4-2 and Sir Geoff Hurst scored his amazing hat-trick – the last time ‘football came home’.
The old black & white footage has been restored and colourised by UK producers Final Replay, working with specialists in New Zealand, India, London and the USA.
Commenting on the news, Sir Geoff Hurst, said: “Can’t wait to see the Channel 4 broadcast – other than those at Wembley on the day, no-one has ever seen the match in colour before.”
The World Cup Final was shown on TV in 1966 in black & white and the original colour film no longer exists. It was discarded on the cutting room floor after the tournament – and the grainy black & white footage and a few colour highlights was all that was left – until now.
The project to restore and colourise the match has been led by Final Replay who co-produced the Channel 4 hit football show Final Replay ’66 in 2020. Restoration and grading has been undertaken by Park Road Post Production in New Zealand, whose credits include The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbittrilogies, and the acclaimed WWI film They Shall Not Grow Old. BAFTA-nominated West Wing Studios has done the colourisation. Whisper has provided sound and production expertise.
Pete Andrews, Head of Sport at C4, said: “I can’t think of a better way to prepare for Sunday’s final than watching England’s ’66 World Cup Final in full colour for the first time ever. It was the last time ‘football came home’ but hopefully that won’t be the case come Sunday evening.
“We’re really pleased to be part of this important legacy project to restore the ’66 Final to full colour, I’m sure football fans will relish seeing it in all its glory.”
Presented by Gabby Logan, the programme will bring this incredible match back to life – so that everyone can enjoy reliving the six goals, extra time and excitement all over again – and preserve an important element of England’s sporting heritage for future generations. Wembley’s green turf, England in red and white, The Queen in a bright yellow outfit – the footage is a gem.
Neil Canetty-Clarke, Executive Producer at Final Replay, said: “It’s been a privilege to work on the ‘66 World Cup Final. Thank you to the talented people across four continents who have restored and colourised all 200,000 frames in time for the 55th anniversary of the match.”
Fans wishing to support the restoration of this national treasure can pre-order the limited edition DVD of the match in a numbered souvenir case personally signed by Sir Geoff Hurst at www.finalreplay.tv Alzheimer’s Society will receive a share of net profits.
Kate Lee, Chief Executive at Alzheimer’s Society said: “What better time to relive this legendary moment in sporting history. Sadly, a number of players from the 1966 squad have been affected by dementia – so we’re hugely grateful to Final Replay for partnering with us and our Sport United Against Dementia campaign which harnesses the positive power of sport to make a difference to people affected by the disease.”
– ENDS –
SOCIAL
#fullcolour66
Twitter, Instagram and FB: @FinalReplayTV
NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information and images please contact Tim English at TEnglish@Channel4.co.uk
About Final Replay
Final Replay is a television business. It owns the Final Replay ’66 format, develops global television programmes & formats and restores & colourises archive black and white footage.
About Whisper
Whisper is a leading broadcast production company. It currently produces Formula One, The Paralympics, NFL, International Cricket and Women’s Super League. It also co-produced The Talk (C4) and Inside Monaco (BBC 2).
About Alzheimer’s Society
Alzheimer’s Society is the UK’s leading dementia charity. It funds research into the cause, care and cure of dementia, provides information and support and campaigns to improve care and create lasting change for people affected by dementia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. To find out more about Sport United Against Dementia, visit www.alzheimers.org.uk/SUAD
About Park Road Post Production
Park Road Post Production is an internationally renowned purpose-built facility in Wellington, New Zealand. With award-winning sound and picture finishing, restoration and industry-leading development of digital workflows, Park Road’s credits include The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, They Shall Not Grow Old, The Adventures of Tintin and District 9.
About West Wing Studios
West Wing Studios is a specialist film colourising company based in Goa, India and Los Angeles, USA. Its work on films, documentaries and series includes I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show and American Sniper. The firm was nominated for a BAFTA Visual Effects award for the series World War II in Colour.
July 2020
For Immediate Release: LONDON: 29 July 2020
The 1966 World Cup Final – As You’ve Never Seen It Before
On its 54th anniversary, England’s dramatic 1966 World Cup Final win over West Germany will be broadcast in full on the FIFA YouTube Channel on Thursday 30 July at 16:00 CEST (15.00 UK time).
Fans across the world will be able to watch the whole match in the company of England’s hat-trick hero Sir Geoff Hurst, presenter Gabby Logan and ex-England player and manager Glenn Hoddle. The team will be joined by other football stars including Alex Scott, Jürgen Klinsmann and Roy Hodgson.
The build-up before the match will show England’s route to Wembley and see Gabby Logan interviewing Sir Geoff Hurst – the only man to have scored a World Cup Final hat trick – about tactics, nerves and how it felt to walk out onto the pitch on that special day.
Final Replay ’66 was produced by Final Replay Limited and Whisper Films Limited during lockdown in the UK. FIFA granted the rights to the original game footage, for this first-of-its-kind global viewing event.
Viewers of this unique format on FIFA’s YouTube Channel will see rarely broadcast dramatic colour footage, and be able to re-live the game as if they had been at Wembley on the afternoon of the final.
With historic commentary, expert football analysis and chat, Final Replay ’66 also includes footage of Muhammad Ali arriving with his entourage to enjoy the game, The Queen greeting the teams ahead of kick-off and Captain Bobby Moore’s celebrations after England’s famous win.
The original broadcast of Final Replay ’66 raised over £500k for the National Emergencies Trust’s Coronavirus Appeal when it aired on Channel 4 on 7 June 2020. It reached 2.8m people in total across the UK, with an average audience of 1m and a peak audience of 1.4m viewers. The broadcast won its slot as the most watched UK TV programme when it was transmitting with a peak share of 13.1%.
Final Replay ’66 also achieved stunning ratings in its slot, with an average audience uplift of 115% over the 3 hour period, including remarkable uplifts of 200% for both ABC1 Adults and Men Over 16. In addition to the dramatic rise in male viewers, the Final Replay ‘66 audience profiled 41% female, higher than average for a sports programme in the UK.
Sir Geoff Hurst said: “It was a special day for England fans all over the world back in 1966 and I am sure that the rebroadcast by the Final Replay team and FIFA on the 54th anniversary of the game on Thursday 30th July will be enjoyed by fans at home and abroad – many of whom may never have seen the game in full length before.”
Neil Canetty-Clarke from Final Replay said: “The 1966 Final was watched by over 32 million people, the largest ever audience in UK history – it’ll be exciting to see how many of FIFA Channel’s 8.8 million viewers watch Final Replay ’66 around the world exactly 54 years on. Thank you to the many people who helped us make the show during lockdown and raise over £500k for charity.”