How we will mark the 65th anniversary of Munich

Friday 03 February 2023 07:00

Manchester United will mark the 65th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster at fixtures this weekend and memorial services next week.

Ahead of the annual fan-led memorial services in Munich and at Old Trafford, United players, staff and fans at this weekend’s fixtures will pay their respects to those who lost their lives as a result of the darkest day in the history of the club, on 6 February 1958.

Erik ten Hag and Marc Skinner will lead Manchester United’s tributes at league fixtures at Old Trafford and Leigh Sports Village by laying commemorative wreathes on behalf of the club ahead of kick off.

All United players in action this weekend will wear black armbands and a minute’s silence will be held to mark the occasion.

At Old Trafford on Saturday, the families of those we lost as well as those affected will be guests of the club, the flags will fly at half-mast as a gesture of respect, a rendition of The Flowers of Manchester will play as the team’s walkout and a giant surfer banner will be unfurled in the Stretford End proclaiming the powerful words, ‘We’ll never die’.

On Monday the memorial services delivered ‘for the fans by the fans’, led by fan group Munich58 and charity Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation (MMMF), will take place at Old Trafford and Manchesterplatz, Munich.

The service underneath the Munich Memorial Plaque at Old Trafford will begin at 14:40 GMT and will consist of poems and songs. The names of all those who lost their lives in the tragedy will be read out, prior to a one-minute silence at 15:04 GMT, marking the time of the tragic plane crash.

Manchester United will again play a leading role in the acts of remembrance with club representatives laying a wreath during the service. In addition, the full U18 and U21 squads will also be at Old Trafford and will lay a wreath on behalf of United’s Academy sides.

You can download the event brochure, containing an order of service

Fans who wish to pay their respects but can’t be at Old Trafford, can do so by watching the service live on MUTV, ManUtd.com, our United App or Facebook page.

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In Munich, the Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation, led by Chairman Pat Burns, will also conduct their annual memorial service at Manchesterplatz.

Former United captain and legend Bryan Robson and Head of Academy Nick Cox, who is a patron of the MMMF, will attend the service alongside senior leaders from the club. Robson will lay a wreath before the two-minute silence on behalf of everyone at Manchester United. 

In addition, members of United’s U13s will also take part in the service with Joe Williams reading a poem written by the squad and teammate Oliver Meredith will lay a wreath on behalf of the academy teams. The involvement of the U13s is part of the education work the club does with its youth sides on the history of Manchester United.

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We salute the free-scoring, free-spirited victory over Arsenal on 1 February 1958, before tragedy struck in Munich.

Senior representatives from FC Bayern Munich are also expected to be in attendance as well as the Lord Mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter, who will deliver the opening address. 

Ahead of the service a new memorial showcase will be unveiled at the crash site for fans to visit and pay their respects. The tribute has been funded by donations from fans as well as Red Docs Munich and FC Bayern Munich.

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A special, 100-page issue of our matchday programme has been produced to mark the 65th anniversary of Munich.

The Manchester United Foundation will be taking eight young people from their Street Reds project out to Munich. During that time, Foundation participants will attend the memorial service as well as linking up with two youth organisations, Pikassio Libero and Buntkickgut who have both benefitted from the Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation.

You can learn more about the Munich Air Disaster at ManUtd.com/Munich.

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