Nearly 30 tonnes of rubbish collected in London clean-ups after Euro 2020 final

Piles of rubbish left behind by partying England fans in Leicester Square Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

Nearly 30 tonnes of rubbish had to be collected in the clean-up of central London and Wembley in the wake of the England Euro 2020 final, waste management company Veolia said.

Hundreds of staff worked for hours to clear up the streets in large scale operations during and after Sunday’s football match at Wembley Stadium, according to Veolia, the environmental partner of Westminster and Brent councils.

In central London, 215 workers, along with 20 vehicles for collecting waste and street cleaning, spent 19 hours clearing up after fans who had gathered there on Sunday.

Some 20 tonnes of litter strewn in the streets, and waste from bins was collected in the Leicester Square and Soho areas.

A worker clears rubbish left by fans at Leicester Square, London before the UEFA Euro 2020 Final between Italy and England Credit: Ian West/PA

Another 16 staff and five vehicles carrying out waste collection and street sweeping were deployed to the area around Wembley Stadium in Brent.

They spent 19.5 hours working to clean up the area and collected nine tonnes of rubbish from around the ground where Italy beat England on penalties.

Pascal Hauret, managing director municipal, for Veolia UK, said: “A massive thank you to the Veolia teams in Westminster and Brent, who continue to amaze us with their unwavering hard work and team efforts, no matter the situation.

“We have been working flat out throughout Euro 2020 to show London’s best face to visiting fans and it gives us great pride that we played our vital role in this, by keeping the streets clean and safe for all.”