The party’s over...but we had a ball

The World Cup maybe over, but the celebrations in Peterborough for England’s successful tournament will be remembered for years, according to the man who ran street parties in the city.

While Gareth Southgate’s men ultimately came up just short, losing in the semi final to Croatia, thousands of fans followed the Three Lions’ adventures at street parties at The Solstice in Peterborough.

The arena at The Solstice was packed for the semi final - and while the arena was opened up for the third place play-off on Sunday, only around 50 turned up to watch England lose to Belgium.

But throughout the past month, the sight of pints of beer being launched in the air to celebrate another England goal was a common one, as the passionate supporters watched wins against Panama, Tunisia, Colombia and Sweden - as well as the nail biting loss to Croatia.

Simon Baker, who ran the events, said: “It was fantastic. The whole thing was incredible - I think we only expected to get to the quarter finals, so to get to the semis was brilliant.

“We had nearly 8,000 people come along throughout the tournament. Tickets for the semi finals sold out within eight hours - I think if we had made the final, it would have been a sell out in minutes.

“The atmosphere at all the events was amazing.

“There are a lot of struggles in the world at the moment, and these parties helped unite people.

“We have held parties for tournaments in the past, but this one was special. It will be remembered for a long time.”

The next major football tournament will take place in two years with the Euro 2020. The tournament will be held across Europe - but the semi finals and final are currently due to be played at Wembley in London. Simon said planning had already started for street parties for the Euros - assuming England qualify.