‘Bring it home’: Outpouring of support as England prepares for Euro 2020 final at Wembley
‘Amazing scenes’ as fans turn out to support team on eve of all-important match at Wembley
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Your support makes all the difference.England’s football team has been showered with messages of support ahead of today’s Euro 2020 final, which is set to become the most watched television event in UK history.
Gareth Southgate and his players received personal messages from the Queen and Boris Johnson as they prepared for the biggest game in more than half a century.
The Queen sought to inspire the squad with her memories of handing the World Cup to Bobby Moore in 1966 – the last time England won a major tournament – and paid tribute to their “spirit, commitment and pride” while the prime minister said the team had “lifted the spirits of the whole country.”
Prince William, who is also president of the FA, said: “You bring out the very best of England and we are all behind you. The whole country is behind you. So, bring it home.”
Hundreds of fans lined roads near the team’s training base in St George’s Park, Staffordshire to cheer on their heroes as the team bus headed to Wembley.
Fans across the country have been preparing for the historic occasion by flying red and white St George’s flags outside their homes, with the residents of Wales Street in Oldham, Greater Manchester, going as far as renaming their road England Street.
While only 60,000 fans can get into Wembley to watch the match, many more are expected to travel to London to try and soak up the atmosphere and police have urged those without tickets not to come to the capital because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“London still remains in a public health crisis,” said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor of the Metropolitan Police. “We will enforce legislation proportionately and as appropriate and engage with crowds.”
Even more unwelcome would be the clouds of millions of flying ants that were spotted over parts of London by Met Office forecasters on the weather radar. Adam Hart, a fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, said: “If conditions are right on Sunday, there may be more than three lions on shirts at Wembley and all around the country.”
Away from the football stadium, tens of millions of people will be watching the game at home, in the pub or even at work.
The total TV audience figure is expected to surge past the 26.7 million seen during the semi-final against Denmark on Wednesday and break the record of 32.3 million set during the 1966 World Cup final, which was also shown on both BBC and ITV at the same time.
In the pubs, England fans are predicted to buy more than 13 million pints on Sunday, including 7.1 million pints during the game itself – although many of those drinks are likely to end up flying through the air both in the event of an England goal and at the final whistle.
Mr Johnson is reportedly considering declaring Monday a bank holiday in the event of a home win, while employers and schools have been urged to allow the nation a lie-in for a few hours on the morning after – particularly if the match goes to penalties and only ends at close to 11pm.
The National Grid is preparing for a two gigawatt spike in electricity demand after the match, the equivalent to around 1.1 million kettles boiling at the same time, although changes in technology and viewing habits mean that the surge is unlikely to beat the all-time record of 2.8GW set at the end of the penalty shoot-out when England lost to Germany in 1990’s World Cup semi-final.
Support for the team has been shown in many different ways by many different people, including Hollywood actor Tom Cruise, who called England captain Harry Kane and the players to wish them luck.
Mr Kane said: “They’ll all be cheering us on around the country and we just can’t wait to hopefully try to win the game for them.”
David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and the Lightning Seeds, who wrote the official Euro 1996 anthem “Three Lions” – projected their own message on to the White Cliffs of Dover. “We’ve always believed,” they wrote. “Good luck Gareth and the England squad!”
And in Gateshead, a team of climbers scaled the Angel of the North sculpture to add an England badge earlier on Saturday morning. Police quickly intervened and the badge was taken down before sunrise.
“We are as excited as everyone else is for the big game but hopefully the Three Lions will have us flying high tomorrow without the need for anyone to scale the region’s tallest structures,” said a spokesperson for Northumbria Police.
Additional reporting by agencies
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