Italians preparing for Euro 2020 final

A Monitor Report

Published: July 10, 2021 | 12:00 AM3 min read

Milan: Italy will have a chance to lift the Euro 2020 trophy in London on July 11. The country’s men’s football team will compete against England at Wembley Stadium, hoping to lift their second European Championship trophy.

On this occasion, Rome’s Mayor Virginia Raggi had proposed to open the Olympic Stadium and allow 16,000 fans inside for the final but the idea was shot down by authorities over concerns that such a move could further spread the coronavirus.

Milan, meanwhile, has decided against public viewing altogether due to the pandemic.

Italy has reported almost 4.3 million cases of the coronavirus, including over 127,000 deaths.

However, two fan zones have been set up in the city – in Piazza del Popolo and at the Roman Forum. Entries at both are via tickets that can be purchased free of charge from midnight on July 10.

On July 10, the atmosphere in Rome’s city center was festive and quiet at the same time, as people took a stroll looking for a place where they could reserve a seat and watch the match on July 11 evening.

“We will watch the match in a bar that has a big screen on the street because it is the final, we want to cheer with other people especially after the pandemic when we were unable to be outside,” Antonio Martino, 37, and Eros Cesano, 36, said, according to reports.

La Nuova Piazzetta restaurant, located near the Colosseum, is right in front of Shamrock Pub, a sports bar where all Euro 2020 matches have been broadcast.

The restaurant will not be showing the match live but they expect a healthy flow of customers, the staff said, as the “pub across the road will be packed and people will need to eat something, hopefully coming to our tables”.

Staff at Shamrock Pub said they had been taking reservations for the final for a week now. They have turned down all reservations but are still expecting a full house.

At the Puma store in the central Via del Corso, all the official team jerseys are sold out. It was not just the locals that bought them. Tourists came in healthy numbers to purchase them, staff said.

While tourism numbers have decreased, resulting in fewer souvenir sales, the owner of a small shop facing Trevi Fountain said she sold all T-shirts that had an Italian flag.