Staff Reporter
THOUSANDS of Spain and England fans were preparing for the Euro 2024 final on Sunday, both in the streets of Berlin and on Spanish shores.
Spaniards from Madrid, La Rioja, the Canary Islands and Murcia, among other regions, were warming up the festivities in the German capital, while preparations were underway in cities such as the Spanish capital to watch the England-Spain match on big screens.
The English fans, however, are expected to outnumber the Spanish at the Olympiastadion Berlin by as much as five times, according to news agency Efe, with just 11,000 Spaniards expected to attend the match compared to around 50,000 Englanders.
All across Spain, bars will be packed out with eager spectators tonight, but in the capital there will be plenty of places to enjoy the game on big screens.
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Madrid City Hall has installed one of these screens in the central Plaza de Colon, while there will be another at the Puente del Rey in the southern Madrid Rio park.
The Palacio de Hielo ice rink, in the northeast of the city, will also have a big screen.
As if the game itself will not be enough of a rollercoaster ride for spectators, there will also be screens at the Warner theme park in the municipality of San Martin de la Vega, as well as at the Parque de Atracciones park in Madrid’s Casa del Campo park.
For those watching at home in Spain, the game will be broadcast on the La 1 channel from state broadcaster TVE, or online via the RTVE Play platform.
Pundits in Spain and the UK are citing Spain as the favourite to win, after they were victorious in every one of their games in the tournament so far including some heavyweight teams such as Croatia, Italy, Germany and France.
In the Spanish press, meanwhile, there has been much talk of the Spain team seeking their ‘revenge’ for their match against England at the Euros in 1996 when La Roja was knocked out in the last-16 stage.
The game, played on June 22, 1996 at Wembley, saw Spain crash out on penalties after two of their goals had been disallowed during the game for ‘non-existent’ offsides, while a clear penalty was not granted by the referee.
Should Spain be victorious, the mayor of Madrid, Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida has promised a ‘major popular celebration’ in the central Plaza de Cibeles, the square next to City Hall where Real Madrid fans traditionally celebrate their team’s victories.
In Benidorm, meanwhile, the seaside resort in the Valencia region that’s hugely popular with British tourists and expats, the local council has put in place major security measures to ensure there are no disturbances, with bars and pubs under instruction to stop serving drinks in glass receptacles from 6pm onward.
