Euro 2020: Boris Johnson under pressure to grant bank holiday if England win final against Italy
Boris Johnson is under mounting pressure to give workers a bank holiday if England win the Euro 2020 football tournament, with more than 300,000 people signing a petition calling for one.
Lee Jones set up a petition on the Parliament website on Thursday asking the prime minister to grant a one-off day off in the event of the Three Lions beating Italy at Wembley on Sunday night.
It reads: "Sunday 8pm is a difficult time for families to plan to be together for the event – knowing we have an additional day off the next day would significantly help this."
The petition added: "Furthermore, a historic win should be celebrated.
"It would be expected for the winning team to parade the trophy, and a bank holiday would be a perfect time to do this.
"Also, English people would naturally want to continue to enjoy the win, giving the retail and leisure industry a much-needed opportunity to make up lost revenues," it said.
The number of signatures passed the 310,000 mark on Friday morning.
England’s men’s football team are now just one historic win away from their first major silverware since 1966 after their 2-1 victory over Denmark on Wednesday.
Mr Johnson, who watched the game at Wembley with his wife Carrie, has wished the national men’s team the "very best" ahead of the final, but said on Thursday that granting a bank holiday would be "tempting fate".
A Liberal Democrat peer has even called for a statue of Gareth Southgate next to Boudicca in Westminster if he leads England to Euro 2020 glory.
Lord Thomas of Gresford joked that victory in Sunday’s final would represent England’s first competitive win over Italy on English soil since the Celtic Queen Boudicca defeated occupying Roman forces in Colchester almost 2,000 years ago.
Meanwhile, Uefa is dealing with an incident involving a laser pen being shone in Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel’s face before he saved Harry Kane’s penalty in the Wednesday match at Wembley.
Uefa has charged England over the incident, while Scotland Yard said it is not yet a police matter.
Downing Street has said it will set out any celebrations such as a victory parade for the England team "in due course", but has not confirmed whether plans for a potential bank holiday are in motion behind the scenes.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: "I don’t want to pre-empt the outcome of Sunday’s match."
"Clearly we want England to go all the way and win the final, and then we will set out our plans in due course."
Jubilant fans created their own ad-hoc celebrations on Wednesday following England’s historic win, with thousands taking to beer gardens, pubs and streets across the country.
England v Italy: What you need to know about the Euro 2020 final
When is the final happening?
When is the final happening?
The Euro 2020 final kicks off at 8pm on Sunday 11 July at Wembley Stadium.
Can I get a ticket?
Can I get a ticket?
While the capacity for the final, along with both semi-finals which have all been at Wembley, has been increased to more than 60,000, it seems there is little hope of securing a ticket if you do not already have one. As it stands, there are no tickets on sale on the Uefa website for the final. Most ticket sales took place in 2019, long before the matches in each stage of the knockout stage of the competition were known. If the situation changes, however, and more tickets do become available, fans would likely need to stump up hundreds – if not thousands – of pounds to secure a seat.
Where can I watch the game on TV or online?
Where can I watch the game on TV or online?
The game will be broadcast on ITV, with its coverage starting from 6.30pm on Sunday. It will also be available to stream online on the ITV Hub (for viewers in the UK only).
What if I'm watching it at a pub?
What if I'm watching it at a pub?
Pubs in England will be allowed to stay open later on Sunday, in case the final goes to penalties, Downing Street has said.
The government has granted pubs special permission to open until 11.15pm - 15 minutes after normal closing time on Sunday.
The British Beer and Pub Association estimated they bought an estimated 6.8 million pints during the match – equating to more than 50,000 pints per minute during the course of two hours.
Downing Street also said employers who are able to should be flexible about allowing staff to go in to work late on Monday or take the day off if England win.
The match will be over by 10pm if it is settled in normal time.
However, the prospect of extra time and a penalty shoot-out mean the game could finish closer to 11pm.
Mr Johnson has already said pubs can stay open until 11.15pm this Sunday to reduce the risk of customers being told to leave before the match ends.
Wednesday’s victory over Denmark – England men’s first semi-finals triumph in 55 years – went to extra time and finished at around 10.45pm.
England v Italy will kick off at 8pm on Sunday, July 11 and it will be live on ITV - it will also be available to stream live on the ITV Hub.