Tottenham fans arrive early ahead of opening match at new stadium

The club's new £1billion home is now open to ticket holders for Wednesday night's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace, the first visitors to the new ground.

Fans began to queue early in the day, and the doors were officially opened at 4.45pm, three hours before kick-off. The Tottenham Hotspur Marching Band performed a 45-minute medley of Spurs classics pitch-side to keep the early arrivals entertained.

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino has called for his players to "create a new chapter" by starting to win trophies as they move into their new ground.

Tottenham have not won any silverware since 2008, but Pochettino has been lauded for his work during the five-and-a-half years at the club, and the Argentine said: "We want to challenge the big clubs in Europe because now it looks like when you arrive at the stadium, it looks like a big club.

"Before you could say, ‘Yeah, but the stadium only holds 36,000′. But now, when you arrive here there is no point in thinking like a small club. You must think like a big club, to be close to the big clubs, the way that the big clubs think.

"If you want to compare to Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus or Real Madrid, you can’t think you are Tottenham with 36,000.

"We need to think like a big club and that is the most important step that we need to make. Of course, you say to me, ‘With you? Without you?’, I don’t know. That is about Daniel.

"But I think my responsibility, like it was five years ago, is to tell the club, ‘Now, we’ve finished the new stadium, we are going to think like a big club. What does it mean to think like a big club?’

"That is what we have to discuss about the project. It’s normal, isn’t it? Nothing wrong, it’s just describing the situation in terms of what has happened.”

The opening ceremony will begin 30 minutes prior to kick-off, with it expected to provide a nod to the 2011 London riots, while the Tottenham players will wear a commemorative home shirt, with an inscription of the match details in the centre.

Supporters have been provided flags in the same way they were in Tottenham's farewell to White Hart Lane against Manchester United in May 2017.

Fans can purchase souvenir programmes for £10, while live music will be played at The Shelf, Dispensary and White Hart Bars.