The Home Office is proposing a blanket relaxation of licensing hours if any of the qualifying home nations reach the semi-final or final of the men’s 2024 European Championships.

Licensing hours for these games are proposed to be extended to 1am in England and Wales, which will be particularly important for any games on a Sunday, including the final. On Sundays, many venues are only licensed until 10.30pm.

Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of UKHospitality, said:

“Big sporting events, like the Euros, bring huge crowds into pubs and bars to cheer on the home nations and deliver a significant sales boost to venues.

“An approved blanket extension of licensing hours until 1am for these key matches will remove unnecessary hoops for pubs to jump through at the last minute and that is why we wholeheartedly support this relaxation.

“We’re also supportive of the private members’ bill currently in Parliament, to make this process even easier in the future.

“The relaxation will allow hospitality to be at the heart of events and, hopefully, celebrate the great progress the home nations will make in the Euros this summer.”