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Wembley murals to remain covered by adverts

Philip Grant Wembley tile muralPhilip Grant
A mural of an athlete carrying an Olympic torch to mark the 1948 Games is one of the works hidden by adverts

Tiled murals around Wembley Stadium will remain cloaked in adverts, a council has ruled.

The artworks, depicting major events related to the arena, were created when the approach to the north-west London ground was pedestrianised ahead of Euro 1996.

In 2013 Brent Council agreed a lease with developers Quintain for advertisements to be put on top of the mosaics.

The council has now denied a request from resident Philip Grant to have them on show again.

The council's cabinet voted unanimously to continue the agreement, which is expected to generate at least £400,000 for the local authority over four years.

The covered scenes depict a torch-carrying athlete with the Olympic flag, marking the 1948 Olympics; the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, who played in Wembley Arena; and Michael Jackson's record-breaking stadium concerts in the 1980s.

Getty Images Adverts under the Bobby Moore Bridge and along Olympics Way seen during 2014 NFL matchGetty Images
Adverts have covered the tile murals under the Bobby Moore Bridge and along Olympic Way, as seen during a 2014 NFL match

Mr Grant, who launched a petition calling for the murals to be visible to the public by allowing advertising on safety barriers only, accused the council leadership of failing to consider his view.

He gave a presentation at the council’s cabinet meeting emphasising the importance of "valuing heritage assets".

However, he said he felt the officers' report had been "one-sided" and claimed a proper vote had not taken place.

Philip Grant Mural of Michael Jackson made out of tilesPhilip Grant
One of the works depicts Michael Jackson - who played a series of record-breaking concerts at Wembley

A Brent Council spokesperson said: “The resident was given five minutes to speak.

"Cabinet then considered the report after which the leader of the council, who was chairing the meeting, moved the recommendations and cabinet unanimously agreed in favour of Option B, allowing the advertising.”

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