Dowden hopeful of big crowd

CULTURE Secretary Oliver Dowden is hopeful a large crowd will be able to attend the Euro 2020 final at Wembley but capacity is still to be determined.

The showpiece match of the delayed tournament is due to take place at the national stadium on July 11, almost three weeks after it is hoped remaining lockdown restrictions in England will have been lifted.

Yet that is no guarantee that sporting stadia and arenas will be able to operate at full capacity, with further restrictions still possible.

The roadmap out of lockdown in England allowed grassroots outdoor sport to resume on Monday. The next planned easing of restrictions on May 17 would allow stadia to open with a 25 per cent capacity limit, up to a maximum of 10,000 spectators. The current plan is then for all restrictions on social contact to be lifted on June 21.

Wembley is hosting seven Euro 2020 matches, including both semi-finals on July 6 and 7 and the final on July 11.

Dowden, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, told the PA news agency: “I am desperate to get people back into stadiums and arenas.

“The first major step, all being well, is ‘stage three’ from May 17. People will be back in stadiums, socially distanced, subject to caps.

“Beyond that, if we continue to stick the course, we are hoping to further ease restrictions and get them back to a level where they can operate commercially viably so a significant increase in numbers.

“For the (Euro) games before June 21, clearly they’ll be subject to some restrictions. After June 21, including the Euro final, I hope to get as many people in as we can - and significantly more than that - but only if we can do so in a safe way.”

The easing of restrictions is dependent on the continued success of the coronavirus vaccine rollout and further reductions in infection rates. Capacities at sporting events will also be determined by the success of a number of pilot events taking place from mid-April.

These will include the World Snooker Championship and the FA Cup semi-finals and final but a full list of pilot events is yet to be published.