Euro-2020 final: thousands of fans excited near Wembley Stadium

Published on : 07/11/2021 – 21:02

Pints ​​of beer, flags, chants and honking: from Leicester Square to Wembley Stadium, thousands of excited English supporters invaded the streets and pubs of London on Sunday 11 July, in a popular jubilation degenerating in places, facing the hope that England beat Italy to win the Euro.

In front of Wembley Stadium, the subway entrance pours out a veritable torrent of bubbling white and red flags. In question: the 65,000 people who will attend the Italy-England clash, but also thousands of other supporters, without tickets for the final, who also came to participate in the celebration.

“It’s historic, at least you can say you were here”, enthuses Abdel Samawe, 34-year-old accountant, facing the possibility of a victory for England, whose only major title dates back to 55 years and the 1966 World Cup. “Even if you are not in the stadium, you can still soak up the atmosphere and pass it on to the next generations”.

Around him, the square turned into a deafening party, the chants of tens of thousands of exuberant supporters responding to the firecrackers or enthusiastic honking of motorists.

Rock throwing, beer cans, backpacks and traffic cones

However, the atmosphere began to become tense at the end of the afternoon around the stadium: stones, beer cans, backpacks or traffic cones were thrown into the air by tipsy supporters, noted a journalist from AFP.

According to images posted on social media, dozens of ticketless supporters knocked down barriers and overwhelmed security personnel in an attempt to enter the close perimeter of Wembley Stadium.

The company which manages the enclosure recognized an “incident” which required the intervention of the police force but assured that no person without tickets had “entered the stadium”. Three Italian supporters were also taken to task by raging English supporters.

On Twitter, London Police asked supporters not to come to Wembley if they did not have a ticket as “the area is extremely busy”, “We have officers on hand to take care of the crowd and ensure the safety of people, ”she said.

A giant screen in Trafalgar Square

In the center of the British capital, the tourist district of Leicester Square, taken by storm by fans, remains much quieter. Around 1,500 lucky people drawn will be able to watch the match from the giant screen in the fan-zone installed in Trafalgar Square.

For Cameron Morgan, “there is no better time” to win this title, while “everyone has been under house arrest for a year” because of the pandemic. His friend Luke Benton nods: “It is obvious that (England players) have been unlucky for the past 50 years, so now is the time to shine!”

Early Sunday morning, pubs, bars and restaurants across the country were overwhelmed by a flood of supporters, so much so that photos posted on social media showed endless queues to access them.

In the middle of this ballet of red and white, a few rare Italian supporters made the trip. “I’m not nervous today because I really think we’re going to win,” said Eugenio Copelli, who made the pilgrimage to Wembley on Sunday morning, although he planned to watch the game at home with friends.

With AFP