Sea of red and white as Sunderland fans celebrate SAFC's epic 1973 FA Cup Final win on its 50th anniversary

Five hundred fans sang Abide With Me, the National Anthem and proudly held banners and scarves high at the Fire Station Auditorium today .

The die-hard supporters watched the re-showing of the 1973 FA Cup Final and were joined by Sunderland legends including some who played in that epic cup run.

Black Cats legends mixed with the fans

Bobby Kerr, John Tones, John Lathan, Jackie Ashurst and Brian Chambers were all scheduled to spend the day with fans.

It was a fitting tribute to the day on May 5, 1973 when Bob Stokoe and his stars pulled off one of football’s most astonishing achievements.

The whole event was organised by the Fans Museum in conjunction with the Fire Station.

‘We will keep this as a memory forever’

Fans Museum founder Michael Ganley said: “It is powerful. So powerful. We will keep this as a memory forever.

"It was a page in history that we needed to rekindle. The players from 1973 are held in the highest esteem and that will not change.

"We have had people who have come from Australia and the USA for this and we hope we have done them proud.”

During more than 5 hours of entertainment, fans at the Fire Station Auditorium also watched the 44-minute film ‘Reliving The Fairytale’ produced by the Sunderland Echo.

25,000 fans headed for Wembley throughout the night

It is filled with fans memories of the excitement which filled Wearside.

It tells how one fan got a Cup Final ticket in return for three pin striped suits. Another had to drive to a village near London to get his ticket from a stranger in a pub.

Others re-live the crescendo of noise inside Wembley.

For more memories of 1973, visit the Sunderland Echo website for stories including pictures of fans inside Wembley in 1973; and the mass exodus of 25,000 Sunderland fans which went on all night.

You can also visit the Echo’s nostalgia page on Facebook. You could be next to join the 8,000-strong Wearside Echoes membership.