Preparing for the delayed Euro 2020 championships

The Euro 2020 championships that was delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, has now been rescheduled for this year and may be an opportunity to increase revenues into your businesses.

The tournament opens on the 11^th June 2021 and finishes with the final on the 11^th July, this means that the Euros will straddle step 3 & 4 of the English ‘Roadmap out of lockdown’.  Step 4 (currently not before 21^st June) being where there are supposed to be no additional restrictions or requirements on the operating of hospitality.

Clearly, we are hopeful total easing will take place, but even still premises wishing to host events for the Euros will need to think about how they undertake this both with and without social distancing. It is also worth factoring in the fact that the public will have become used to having far more space etc. We’ve heard from a number of operators that they are concerned on how customers who are dining will react if there is a volume of people at the bar and/or passing them to access the bar.

If you are considering showing the games in your external area or use of fan zones, especially with external points of sale, it’s imperative that you check the permissions and conditions on your Premise Licence to make sure you are covered for any change in operating style, particularly externally, if in doubt it is worth checking with a Licensing Expert like ourselves. If you aren’t covered then either Temporary Event Notices may be required or a full Premises Licence variation.

Due to the spectator issues in Dublin, Wembley will now host eight matches - England's three group games, two last-16 ties, both semi-finals and the final.

The key initial group games are below but full listings are available here https://www.skysports.com/euro-2020-fixtures

All of these save for England & Scotland’s last game will be under Step 3 Covid Regulations.  This means:

• Indoor gatherings will be permitted but the rule of 6 will continue internally.
• Externally group gatherings can be of 30 people.
• Hospitality will still be classed as a restricted business and therefore customers will still be required to be seated.

Although we still have a long way to travel along the road map and the Euros are some distance away, it is worth preparing early.

If any Temporary Event Notices are required for the first England game on the 13^th June, these will need to be submitted no later than Thursday 27^th May, but preferably earlier.

The next date when England or Scotland will play in the knockout phase would appear to be the 27^th June by which time hopefully all restrictions will have disappeared however, we may still have social distancing in some form, and only time will tell.

As always if you require any assistance, please give us a call on 0114 266 8664 and one of our Licensing Experts will be able to assist.