Euro 2021
The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, also referred to as Euro 2020, is a greatly anticipated event that occurs every four years and is the men’s football championship put on by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). However, the tournament has been pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic that swept the world in 2020. Instead of taking place in 2020 as originally planned, the UEFA European Football Championship will instead take place from June 11, 2021 to July 11, 2021. If you watch to watch the football matches, you can do so at The Cornershop Bar, a Shoreditch Pub with live football matches. Although taking place a year later than originally expected, the tournament is still titled Euro 2020 as opposed to Euro 2021, likely to prevent confusion and keep the numbers even, as it is traditional that the tournament be held every four years.
In total, 20 teams have qualified for the tournament and will be split into six different groups, sorted from A to F. There will be 51 matches in total throughout the entire tournament. For those who wish to watch the tournament on television, they will be televised live on the following television networks: ABC, ESPN, ESPN 2, and TUDN.
For the duration of the tournament, there will be a total of 12 host cities including Dublin, Munich, and Saint Petersburg. For most of the stadium locations, there will be a reduced capacity for spectators varying from 25% capacity to fully filled at 100% capacity depending on the venue. If you are wishing to attend one of the tournament locations from abroad, you may need to make sure that COVID-19 travel restrictions will still allow you to attend. This depends on the country that you are traveling to as well as where you are traveling from. As of now, Bilbao, Dublin, Munich, and Rome have until April 19, 2021 to submit information about their plans for their stadiums during the tournament.
The other eight locations, however, have confirmed their capacity limits for their stadiums and will be hosting live spectators for the matches. If you are in a certain city and unable to attend the match in person, there will be multiple options around the city for you to be able to enjoy the match live and cheer your team on from a distance.
In Rome, the opening ceremony will be held at the Olympic Stadium where there will be live music and other traditional opening festivities. Also, the stadium will be upgraded prior to the games to include additional accessibility for attendees as well as more toilets and catering areas. As with the other locations, there will be screens around the city on which to watch the opening ceremony if you will be unable to attend the event in person, but still want to watch it live. On Sunday July 11, 2021, the final match will take place at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
This year’s football championship is greatly anticipated by fans all across Europe and the world. Though this year will be unique compared to years past and will likely require some adjustment from fans, Euro 2020 is sure to bring a lot of thrills and entertainment to football fans. Further information about Euro 2020 can be found online at uefa.com.
