In July, ahead of November’s FIFA 2022 Men’s World Cup In Qatar, England Football legend and 1966 World Cup hat trick hero Sir Geoff Hurst unveiled a new digital initiative titled ‘The Everlasting Memory’ to digitally archive his personal recollections of the famous final against West Germany in an NFT.
The announcement marked 56 years since Sir Bobby Moore’s team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the controversial, iconic match in 1966 and 81-year-old Hurst – one of three surviving squad members alongside Sir Bobby Charlton and George Cohen – unveiled the NFT project to raise funds for The Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimers Research UK.
Almost all of the players from that famous England team have died with or suffered from the impact of Alzheimer’s or dementia and Hurst is now the only player alive who remembers the match so will store those memories forever as an NFT.
Working with HERO talent agency, media and tech law firm Sheridans, digital idea consultancy Idea Farm, production house KODE and creative agency Above+Beyond, Hurst will preserve his memories on the blockchain and auction it to fans and NFT collectors to raise charitable donations for The Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimers Research UK.
NFT artist ReepsOne turned Hurst’s voice data into abstract art to create a one-off NFT and several open editions out of the attacker’s World Cup memories through colour and pattern and the ‘1/1 Full Memory’ will drop on 23 September 2022.
The project was promoted across Hurst’s own personal social platforms and via the agency and media partner channels, as well as by a bespoke website which includes a set of project videos.
I am digitally preserving my memories of the 1966 World Cup Final for The Everlasting Memory project in support of @AlzResearchUK and @alzheimerssoc https://t.co/d694bzfdyG
— Sir Geoff Hurst (@TheGeoffHurst) July 27, 2022
Today we launch 'The Everlasting Memory' – preserving @TheGeoffHurst's memory of the historic 1966 World Cup via an NFT. Read here for more details: https://t.co/KPgBoIjrxm https://t.co/yzst1Ns5rr
— Above+Beyond (@Above_Agency) July 27, 2022
“As time passes, and memories fade, the 1966 World Cup is still etched in my brain and I am fortunate to be able to recall that life changing experience even at the ripe old age of 80 years,” commented Hurst at the official NFT announcement event. “Watching from the sidelines as teammates from that World Cup winning side have been impacted by the awful disease that is Alzheimer’s, has been a humbling experience. These amazing men were more than teammates, they were heroes to me – and to the rest of the nation.
“Raising vital funds and awareness for charities like Alzheimer’s is close to my heart and getting involved in an NFT project to do that has been an eye-opening experience,” continued Hurst. “Of course, I’ve read about this new world of NFTs and to be able to call on my own memories of 66′ and immortalise them digitally for future generations was what really intrigued me. In a World Cup year, when Gareth’s boys aim to emulate our 66′ team in Qatar it is the perfect moment for this project to take place – and I’m hoping the NFT auctions can raise thousands of pounds for both The Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK, and in turn fighting this horrible disease.”
HERO Founder Simon Dent added: “This has been a real team effort pulling on the skillsets of a number of best in class businesses. For seven months we have been working with Sheridans, Above & Beyond, KODE Media, Idea Farm and ReepsOne to ensure we do justice to this very important and culturally significant project”
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