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Services marking the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster are being held in England and Germany today to remember the 23 people, including eight Manchester United players, who died in the crash.

Sir Bobby Charlton is among the survivors joining fans and club representatives at a memorial service conducted by United's chaplain, the Rev John Boyers, at the Old Trafford stadium.

At the same time in Germany, hundreds of fans will attend a memorial service at the site of the tragedy outside Munich.

The services will take place at the exact anniversary of the tragedy - 3.04pm on February 6 1958.

Eight Manchester United players - the so-called Busby Babes - died after a refuelling stop in Germany on the way back from a win in a European Cup tie against Red Star Belgrade.

The tragedy robbed football of a precocious team, but gained United a worldwide following that it has retained. Busby's side had won back-to-back league titles and was well positioned for a third.

The players who died in the crash were Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan.

United will also unveil a free, permanent exhibition of the Busby Babes in the South Stand tunnel, which will be renamed the Munich Tunnel.

David Gill, the chief executive, said the club would deliver a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives.

"We've tried to make sure we deal with things around the anniversary appropriately and compassionately," he said.

"We spoke to those who were directly affected by the crash such as Sir Bobby, as well as people who know the club and its history intimately like [club secretary] Ken Ramsden and [former reporter] David Meek."

There will be a minute's silence at tonight's friendly between England and Switzerland at Wembley.

At Sunday's Manchester derby, both teams will wear a one-off 1950s replica kit with no sponsorship logos and numbered 1 to 11. Manchester City's former goalkeeper, Frank Swift, was among those killed in the crash while working as a journalist.

Guardian Unlimited

Quote:Busby's side had won back-to-back league titles and was well positioned for a third.

Geoff, After the tragedy did the remaining team continue on that year or was it abandoned, how did the team go in the years after the tragedy?

Incredibly, United actually played a match just a few days after the disaster, I think against Sheffield Wednesday in an FA Cup match, and WON! Naturally it meant that some of the reserve team were called in to make up the numbers, but it worked. United lost in the final though, I can`t quite remember who it was against.

At that time United had a reputation for flowing, attacking and attractive football. A number of the Busby Babes were internationals, and Busby was very keen on playing sides outside of England, which the footballing authorities weren`t all that happy about.

Since then United have always had a reputation for attacking football whatever their side. It has to be said they gained a lot of sympathy because of the tragedy in Munich, and a lot of people worldwide started to support them. Now they are one of, if not THE richest team in the world.

Wages in those days were around £15 a week, which was apparently around 25% more than the average wage, whereas now top players can earn in excess of £100,000 a week. Many in the Premiership are on between £40,000 and £80,000 a week.

Quite appropriate then that the match tomorrow is at home (Old Trafford), against their arch rivals - Manchester City. The question is, will one minute`s silence before the game be observed by the City supporters?