Tottenham Hotspur Stadium celebrates NHS birthday

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be illuminated blue tonight (Saturday 3 July) ahead of the 73rd anniversary of the NHS.

Our stadium will join landmarks including the London Eye, Wembley Arch and the London Stadium in paying tribute to NHS staff and all key workers who have worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tonight’s illuminations will be a moment for people to reflect on everything our communities have endured, stand in solidarity to remember those we have lost, and thank those who have risked so much to keep us safe.

Dr Vin Diwakar, Medical Director for the NHS in London, said: “This year’s anniversary follows a uniquely challenging year, and I give my thanks to London’s NHS staff, volunteers, students and key workers whose compassion and dedication has shone more so than ever before. We are grateful for the support we’ve received and would like to thank those in London who have come together to light up blue to recognise the huge contributions of health service staff and commemorate those who we’ve sadly lost during the coronavirus pandemic.”

Throughout the pandemic, the Club has continued to work closely with our local NHS hospital, North Middlesex University, in its fight against COVID-19.

In April, 2020 – at the height of the first wave of the pandemic – our stadium’s world-class facilities were transformed to assist our local hospital.

Between April and July last year, the stadium’s dressing rooms, medical and media facilities were transformed to host North Middlesex’s University Hospital Women’s Outpatient Services.

This was designed to free up much-needed capacity at the hospital itself to treat patients facing COVID-19 symptoms while supporting the redirection of pregnant women away from the hospital. Over 41,500 appointments were delivered at the stadium, with drive-through COVID-19 testing also taking place in the stadium’s basement car park for hospital staff and their families until February, 2021.

Although North Mid services have now returned to the hospital itself, the stadium continues to be used in the fight against COVID-19, most recently hosting two mass vaccination clinics in its West Level One concourse.

The Club has continued to build on its strong relationship with North Mid, hosting the hospital’s virtual staff awards in March and donating use of the pitch for a staff football match in May as a way of thanking local NHS heroes who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic.

In addition, the Club’s unique partnership with North Mid was shortlisted for the ‘Innovative Use of the Built Environment in Support of Healthcare’ at this year’s HSJ Awards. Known within the healthcare industry as the ‘NHS Oscars’, the HSJ Awards celebrate healthcare excellence within the UK.