40,000 fans allowed for Euro 2020 semis and final
The Euro 2020 semi-finals and final will be played in front of 40,000 fans at Wembley, while a capacity crowd will witness the Wimbledon finals as part of a series of new pilot events in England.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday announced a four-week delay in England to the full lifting of Covid-19 restrictions - which were due to end next Monday - because of a surge in infections caused by the Delta variant.
However, the European Championship's final four matches at Wembley will be able to nearly double the crowd that saw England win their opening match against Croatia 1-0 on Sunday. Wembley's capacity is 90,000.
England will also face Scotland and the Czech Republic at a 25 per cent-capacity Wembley over the coming days.
But a last-16 match on June 29, plus the semi-finals and final in July, will be staged in front of the largest crowd in the UK for more than 15 months.
Wimbledon will be allowed to operate at half capacity during the two weeks of the tournament, which was cancelled last year due to Covid restrictions.
The women's final on July 10 and men's showpiece the following day will be watched by a full 15,000 crowd on Centre Court.
"We want to gather further evidence on how we can open up all big events safely, and for good," Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said.
Ticket holders for matches at Wembley have to provide proof of full vaccination or a recent negative Covid-19 test result.
Wimbledon welcomed the developments and said it would announce further details today regarding spectator capacity and Covid protocols for the tennis Grand Slam. - AFP
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