Andy Devaney
West Ham United will mark Deaf Awareness Week with a stirring new British Sign Language interpretation of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles, bringing players, Deaf supporters and the Club’s Disabled Supporters’ Association together for a matchday moment with rather more substance than the usual pre-derby chest-puffing.
Ahead of Sunday’s London derby against Arsenal at London Stadium, the specially produced video will be shown on the big screens as the teams walk out. It features members of the Disabled Supporters’ Association, Deaf supporters and Men’s First Team players including Jarrod Bowen, Mads Hermansen, Kyle Walker-Peters and Freddie Potts, each signing a line from the anthem that has followed generations of Hammers through joy, heartbreak and the occasional afternoon requiring a lie down in a dark room.
Bubbles, But In A New Language
Few songs in English football carry the same peculiar magic as I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles. It is not aggressive. It is not especially modern. It does not arrive with the thunderous certainty of a club declaring itself invincible.
It floats. Rather like West Ham itself, it carries hope, danger, beauty and the faint suspicion that something dramatic may happen just when everyone has settled in.
This new version gives the anthem another layer. By presenting Bubbles in British Sign Language, West Ham United is not simply adding a nice touch to the pre-match routine. It is making one of the Club’s deepest traditions more accessible to supporters who should never be left watching the ritual from the outside.
Bowen And First-Team Players Join Supporters
The video was created in collaboration with Performance Interpreting, who already support the Club on matchdays. Participants were guided through learning and performing the song in BSL, with the finished piece designed to highlight Deaf Awareness Week and raise awareness of the Club’s BSL services.
Men’s First Team Captain, Jarrod Bowen was delighted to show his support:
“Taking part in this was a really special experience. ‘Bubbles’ means so much to everyone connected to West Ham, and learning to sign it gave us a new perspective on how important it is that all supporters can share in those moments together. I’m sure it’s something fans will be proud to see before the game on Sunday.”
That is the heart of it. Football clubs often talk about family, community and belonging, sometimes with the sincerity of a corporate mug. But this is a practical, visible step. The sort of thing supporters actually notice. The sort of thing that makes a stadium feel less like a venue and more like home.
Disabled Supporters’ Association Leads The Way
The concept was originally proposed by the Disabled Supporters’ Association as part of its ongoing work to improve accessibility and ensure all fans can feel properly connected to the West Ham United matchday experience.
Cathy Bayford and Trevor Bright, Co-Chairs of the Disabled Supporters’ Association, said:
“As Co-Chairs, Trevor & I are incredibly proud of the DSA’s work in leading the BSL initiative at the London Stadium, and now to showcase the provision with the help of the first team players and other members of the DSA, especially this month as we recognise UK Deaf Awareness Week.
“As the DSA we will continue to work alongside the Club to make the matchday experience as inclusive and accessible to all spectators. We encourage all those with accessibility issues including hidden disabilities, to take a moment to sign up to the Disabled Supporters Association.
“Together we are a louder voice!”
It is a lovely line, that last one. “Together we are a louder voice!” Not louder in volume, necessarily, but louder in presence. Louder in visibility. Louder in insisting that football’s grand theatre should include every supporter, not just the ones who can access it most easily.
A First Season Of BSL At London Stadium
Keighley Tansley, DSA Advisor for Deaf & Hard of Hearing, added:
“As we come to the end of our first season with BSL at the Stadium, it’s been incredible to bring players together to learn Bubbles in British Sign Language, while also sharing more about the work DSA are doing behind the scenes to create real, lasting change and make match days more accessible for everyone.
“We hope you enjoy the film as much as we’ve loved creating it. This song is something we hope will give our deaf fans a real sense of pride and show that West Ham and the DSA are truly committed to making football inclusive for all.”
That first season with BSL at London Stadium is an important marker. Accessibility in sport is not solved by one video, one campaign week or one well-meaning gesture. It is built in the less glamorous places: planning meetings, matchday operations, supporter services, boardroom pressure, feedback loops and the persistence of people who refuse to let inclusion be treated as a footnote.
Why This Matters Before Arsenal
There is, of course, a football match attached to all of this. Arsenal arrive for a London derby, and the atmosphere will have all the usual ingredients: noise, nerves, tribal certainty and several thousand people convinced they personally understand the offside law better than the assistant referee.
But before the whistle and the tactical arguments, West Ham United has chosen to place Deaf supporters and accessibility at the centre of the spectacle. That matters.
The Club’s anthem belongs to everyone who wears claret and blue in the heart, whether they are in east London, watching from overseas, sitting in the stands, following from home, or engaging with the game through BSL.
Football Inclusion Done Properly
The strongest accessibility work in football tends not to shout about itself. It simply removes a barrier and lets supporters feel the thing they came to feel.
This West Ham United initiative does that. It keeps the emotional force of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles intact while opening it up in a way that is thoughtful, visible and rooted in supporter involvement.
To find out more about the WHUDSA, to sign up as a member or if you are interested in playing a more active role on the board, please email info@whudsa.com or click HERE.