Petition launched to give UK a Bank Holiday if England win Euro 2020 final

8 July 2021, 12:59 | Updated: 8 July 2021, 13:44

England has made it to their first-ever European Championship final by beating Denmark.

Thousands of people have signed a petition to give the UK a Bank Holiday if England wins the Euro 2020 final.

The last game in the tournament is set to take place at Wembley Stadium on Sunday at 8pm, with fans desperate to celebrate with a day off on the following Monday.

The petition’s creator, Lee Jones, has justified the need for a Bank Holiday, saying it would be ‘beneficial’ for everyone in the UK to have a day off.

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He said: "It would be beneficial and sensible to give the country the day off the next day if England win, in the form of an extra Bank Holiday Monday.

"Sunday 8pm is a difficult time for families to plan to be together for the event - knowing we have an additional day off the next day would significantly help this.

"Furthermore, a historic win should be celebrated. It would be expected for the winning team to parade the trophy, and a Bank Holiday would be a perfect time to do this.

"Also, English people would naturally want to continue to enjoy the win, giving the retail and leisure industry a much-needed opportunity to make up lost revenues."

While it’s unlikely that a Bank Holiday would be announced with such short notice, football fans have been calling on Boris Johnson to make a decision.

One person Tweeted: "If England get to the #EURO2020 final, how about making Monday 12th July a National Holiday @BorisJohnson @10DowningStreet Be a popular vote winner for you."

Another said: "Come on Boris !!! Do the decent thing if England get to the final!!! Monday is a national holiday."

But the Prime Minister has warned people not to 'tempt fate', responding: "I think that would be tempting fate. Let’s see what happens."

This comes after England bagged their first major tournament semi-final win since the World Cup back in 1966.

They were drawing 1-1 against Denmark, but captain Harry Kane scored in extra-time to claim victory.

England manager Gareth Southgate has spoken about the joy the Euros has brought to people this year.

He told BBC Sport: "The opportunity to bring happiness and create brilliant nights for our fans, our nation, is a very special one that you have when you play with England.

"They are matches that you remember where you were and some of the nicest messages you get are that people appreciate how the players have been - that they feel they can connect with them - they should be very proud of that."