Sports Mole looks at whether there will be a bank holiday if England beat Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday.
Seeking to follow in the footsteps of their female and youthful counterparts, England compete in their second successive European Championships final on Sunday, where Spain stand between them and the Henri Delaunay trophy.
In each of the past four years, an English team has been present in a European Championship showpiece match, a trend that began with Gareth Southgate‘s men being left crestfallen at Wembley in 2021, having succumbed to Italy’s penalty prowess.
However, England’s Women’s team were crowned queens of the continent a little under 12 months later – sinking Germany in the Euro 2022 final – before the Under-21s bested none other than Spain last year.
As Southgate’s team bid to emulate their compatriots and end 58 years of senior men’s misery, they will do so in the presence of royalty and high-ranking political figures, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, a known football fanatic.
Whether he is cheering on his beloved Arsenal or taking five minutes out of meetings to watch Harry Kane fire home a penalty against the Netherlands, Starmer’s love for the game has naturally raised hopes of an extra day off if England are victorious at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.
Will there be a bank holiday if England win?
While at the latest Nato summit in Washington, the PM was of course asked about the prospect of an extra bank holiday if the Three Lions emerge triumphant, and he affirmed that the occasion must be marked in “some way”.
However, Starmer refused to commit to a bank holiday when asked by ITV News, saying: “I went to the last Euros finals. I don’t want to go through that again so I don’t want to jinx anything. We must mark it in some way but the most important thing is getting it over the line on Sunday.”
Have there been bank holidays for previous England successes?
Before succeeding Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, Starmer had previously led calls for a bank holiday ahead of the Euro 2020 final, as well as the Women’s Euro 2022 final, but the Conservative Government resisted calls for the latter owing to “considerable” costs.
Starmer also insisted that there should be a bank holiday if England defeated Spain in the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, but the Government again refused the Labour leader’s pleas before the Lionesses lost 1-0 Down Under.
In addition, there was no bank holiday after England beat West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final, meaning that there has never been one for a football or non-football sporting triumph.
Who decides bank holidays?
Bank holidays have been in operation since being introduced by the Bank Holidays Act of 1871, and they are currently appointed by the Royal Proclamation, where the reigning monarch acts on ministerial advice.
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