The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
England’s Euro 2012 bid on the big screen
BY ADAM UREN A SPORTING extravaganza will be served up next month as a city bar transforms a street into the place to be to watch England’s European Championship campaign.
Following the success of World Cup 2010, which saw a big screen erected at the end of King Street, Sports Lounge is looking to repeat the trick for Euro 2012, which gets under way on Friday, June 8.
Bar owner Simon Baker has applied to Peterborough City Council for a licence to show every England match on a huge screen at the end of the street.
This guarantees at least three events for the group stages, and potentially more should England make it through to the quarter-finals.
Provided licensing is granted for every England match, hundreds of fans will be able to descend on to the street to cheer on their nation as they watch Roy Hodgson’s men on a giant screen.
The events proved hugely popular during the World Cup and Mr Baker is hoping it will be even more successful, with an outdoor bar available this time around only serving plastic bottled drinks to ensure supporters spend less time indoors at the bar.
He said: “It will be £5 to get into the arena but we will be keeping our beer prices low. Our main emphasis will be on not ripping people off and making sure we provide a really good atmosphere.”
The “arena” will open two hours prior to kick-off in the England games, with the first match due to kick-off at 5pm on Monday, June 11, when England take on bitter rivals France.
The arena will close at 11pm that night as the Sweden vs Ukraine match will be shown afterwards.
England’s other group matches will kick-off at 7.45pm on Friday, June 15, against Sweden; and at 7.45pm on Tuesday, June 19, against the Ukraine.
All other matches of the European Championships will be shown live inside the Sports Lounge, but not on the outdoor screen.
The England matches will be preceded by two hours of entertainment with a DJ stage, a compere, a selection of games and giveaways being planned.
There will be outdoor toilets provided, with 15 portaloos expected to be set up in King Street, as well as outdoor catering.
Tickets for the England matches can be booked by visiting the official SJB Events Euro 2012 event website, www.euro12.co.uk.
An Android app, called Euro2012pboro, has also been launched with an Apple app soon to follow.
For more updates, follow @Euro12boro on Twitter or “Euro 2012, Peterborough” on Facebook.