Release Date: 29/07/2010

MANCHESTER United legends including Harry Gregg, fellow goalkeeper Alex Stepney, John Fitzpatrick and Norman Whiteside will be at the Grand Opera House in Belfast on Saturday night (31 July) to support the George Best Foundation.

Malcolm Wagner, one of George’s most loyal friends, will be attending along with James Murphy, son of Jimmy Murphy, who was best known as the scout and trainer for young Manchester United footballers who became the Busby Babes, who included the likes of Duncan Edwards and Bobby Charlton.

All the guests will be at a gala performance of the musical Dancing Shoes - The George Best Story, which runs at the theatre until 14 August.

Barbara McNarry, George Best’s sister and secretary of the foundation, said: “We are very grateful to everyone who is supporting the event.  All funds raised will be invaluable in helping the foundation promote a healthy lifestyle for young people through football and other sport-based initiatives.

“Other aspects of our work, from supporting people with drug or alcohol problems to providing funding for research, will also benefit greatly.”

Other guests at the show will include Sheena Busby, daughter of Sir Matt, who managed Manchester United when George was at his peak; golfer Ian Woosnam, former Ryder Cup captain and Masters winner; and actor Sean Bean, star of the TV series Sharpe and several films.

Sir Michael Parkinson was to have been a special guest of the foundation, but has had to withdraw for family reasons. However, a DVD message from him will be shown at the after-show reception.  Sir Michael was a close friend of George and author of Best: An Intimate Biography.

He said: "I am very sorry that I can’t be in Belfast to pay tribute to George and the excellent work of the foundation that bears his name.  George was a footballing genius and one of my favourite guests on my TV show. He had his problems, of course, but there was never self-pity or complaints about the cruelty and injustices of life, or anything like that.”

A DVD from Eamonn Holmes, the foundation’s president, is also expected to be shown at the after-show reception.  Broadcaster Gerry Kelly will host an auction, which will include items like tickets to a Manchester United match at Old Trafford, an official signed Manchester United football with signatures from the  2009-2010 squad, a Stephen Doig original piece with George wearing his Northern Ireland strip and a canvas called ‘Reach’ by Irish Indian artist Deepa Mann-Kler.

In notes in the Dancing Shoes programme, Harry Gregg recalls 1962 and playing five-a-side football with youngsters who were on trial at Manchester United.  One of them was George.   He says: “He was one wee slip of a kid and I remember his piercing blue eyes.  I was in goals and he managed to get the ball in between my legs.

“My first thought was ‘I’ve slipped’, but really I thought it was a fluke.  Within a matter of minutes it happened again and I said to him: 'Do that again and I’ll break both your legs!’  It turned out to be the beginning of a great friendship that spanned many years. I miss him badly.  George was a bright and shining star, but I didn’t know that that star was to burn out so quickly.

“The word ‘hero’ is much overused but in the case of Best it is very apt.  George was a genius on the pitch: it was his domain.  It is my personal belief that it was off the pitch where his coping mechanism failed him.”

The musical tells of the footballer’s colourful and controversial life, from when, as a youngster, he kicked a tennis ball against a gable wall on the Cregagh estate, to the days of football stardom with Manchester United and Northern Ireland.

Thanks to the talents of the writers and songwriters, the show is packed with great characters, beautiful songs and Belfast humour.

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