Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks out amid calls for Bank Holiday after Euro 2024 final
Fans are hopeful of a Bank Holiday the day after the Euro 2024 final following previous comments from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
England reached a second consecutive final under Gareth Southgate after Ollie Watkins' last-gasp winner in the semi final against the Netherlands on Wednesday night.
The Dutch went 1-0 up early on through Xavi Simons' superb strike but Harry Kane pulled England level following a controversial penalty decision.
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Just when it looked like England were heading for extra time for the third game on the trot, Watkins latched on to a pass from fellow sub Cole Palmer and produced a stunning turn and finish to send England fans into raptures.
The Three Lions will now take on Spain in Sunday's final in Berlin and there has been plenty of clamour to celebrate the achievement with a nice day off on the Monday.
The New PM is a massive football fan and even had a secret code to let him know when England scored at a recent Nato summit in Washington, DC.
Reacting to the winner on X, he wrote: "What a game @England and what a winner. Berlin here we come!"
And there is hope that a Bank Holiday could be on the cards given in the past Starmer, prior to being on office - called for two England finals to result in a "proper day of celebration".
One was the Euro 2020 final at Wembley and the second being when the Lionesses triumphed against Germany in the Women's Euro 2022 final.
"The whole country is incredibly proud of what Gareth Southgate and our England heroes have achieved already," the 61-year-old told The Mirror in 2021.
"History has been made. If we win on Sunday, the country should get the chance to celebrate it properly with an extra bank holiday, granted in the name of the England team."
With Labour voted in following a landslide win over the Conservatives in the General Election, Starmer now has the power to make it happen.
However, he has stressed previously that there are financial concerns when it comes to making a Bank Holiday happen.
Speaking in April when asked about St George's day, Starmer said: "I think that [a Bank Holiday] is both sentimental - in the sense of our history, our values our traditions - but, for me, bound up with that sense of service to our country.
"A bank holiday would be very nice but I think that, with the economy where it is at the moment, we have to celebrate in-and-around the work that we're doing, because we need to absolutely take our country forward.
"What I want to do, if we're privileged enough to come into government, is to have a government of service to the country and have a decade of national renewal - and that would fulfil St George's Day's promise."
There has also been talk of both Southgate and Kane receiving knighthoods irrespective of Sunday's result.
Southgate has an OBE, while Kane was awarded an MBE in 2019.
Josh Lawless