It’s coming home? Venues prepped for Euros final

A number of music venues in England are making special arrangements to show Sunday’s UEFA Euro 2024 Final.

The Three Lions, who are bidding to become the first England men’s side to win a major international tournament in 58 years, go up against Spain in Berlin from 8pm BST.

Organisers of Wireless Festival, which takes place this weekend in London’s Finsbury Park, are bringing forward Doja Cat’s closing headline set to allow the event to finish at 7pm and give fans “plenty of time to travel home” to watch the final.

“The change in running order and curfew is exclusively to accommodate people wanting to watch the football, no artists have been pulled or sets cut because of this,” a spokesperson for promoter Festival Republic tells the BBC.

Elsewhere, London mayor Sadiq Khan has confirmed The O2 will be hosting the capital’s “largest screening”, with a ballot closing earlier today (12 July) for the 15,000 free tickets.

In Manchester, the 23,000-cap AO Arena, which will feature “the UK’s biggest HD screen” is charging £7.25 to £20.25 for general admission and from £185.75 for VIP packages, including private suites for up to 14 people.

Bristol Ashton Gate stadium is also showing the match for £6 entry, while Bournemouth’s BIC and HMV Empire Coventry have already sold out their allocations.

England’s dramatic semi-final victory over the Netherlands in Wednesday’s semi-final sparked memorable scenes during The Killers gig at The O2, where the band broadcast the closing moments of the game on the big screen before launching into their biggest hit, Mr Brightside.

Fellow American band Kings of Leon also celebrated the triumph at their AO Arena Manchester show, leading a singalong of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, which has been adopted as an England football anthem.

England are vying for their first European Championship trophy, while Spain have won the tournament three times before – in 1964, 2008 and 2012.

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