AND ALL THAT

real sense of positivity coming through.”

Simon French, chief economist at brokers Panmure Gordon, said an England victory could provide an economic boost worth billions of pounds.

He said: “If a victory on one day coalesces with a broader feel-good factor, like we saw during Euro ’96 or the 2012 Olympics, it could boost consumer sentiment.

“The difference this time is that UK households have a lot of pentup savings due to the pandemic – we estimate about £20billion – and the speed with which they are spent is closely linked to consumer sentiment.”

The record TV audience for a football match was England’s 4-2 triumph over West Germany in 1966, which was watched by 32.3 million people. A TV source said tonight’s Euro final, which is being broadcast simultaneously by the BBC and ITV, is set to top this.

They said: “Most people expect total viewing to be over 30 million including both channels, and all devices.

“And that doesn’t include those watching in pubs, which most would say would add another 10 to 15 per cent.”

That would translate into 34.5 million viewers, but the source said the BBC was expected to attract the largest share of the audience, giving ITV a smaller payday for adverts.

Gideon Spanier, UK editor-inchief for Campaign, the trade magazine for advertising, said: “The final is around £150,000 (per 30second advert) on the basis that ITV will likely only have a quarter of the audience versus the

BBC. The semi-final went for £500,000 plus as ITV had the match exclusively.”

With half the nation set to watch, the half-time break is likely to cause a major spike in electricity as millions of people make a cup of tea or open the fridge at the same time.

There is expected to be a two gigawatt electricity demand pickup during the match – the equivalent of around 1.1 million kettles boiling at the same time.

Tickets for the final were being touted for prices ranging from £1,940 up to £17,000 on a variety of resale websites, according to consumer groupwhich?

And the British Beer and Pub Association expects an extra 13 million pints to be drunk today, with half of those consumed during the final.