Plans for a Euro 2020 fan park in Greenwich Park have been scrapped with City Hall planning to use Trafalgar Square to screen matches instead.
Last February, Greenwich councillors backed plans to allow 30,000 people to watch matches on screens in front of the Queen’s House in the biggest event to take place in the park since the 2012 Olympics. Residents raised worries over whether the transport network could cope with the numbers – greater than the 22,500 allowed in for the Olympics.
Councillors acknowledged the event would cause disruption, but said it would be outweighed by the benefits to the wider borough.
But the plans fell into disarray just a few weeks later when the football tournament – due to take place in cities across Europe to mark its 60th anniversary – was postponed because of the pandemic.
London secured seven matches at Wembley Stadium, including the semi-finals and final, and part of its bid included the Greenwich Park fan zone.
With Euro 2020 rescheduled for June and July, London’s plans still include a fan zone – but Royal Parks has confirmed to 853 that Greenwich Park no longer forms part of the programme.
Instead, City Hall is planning to play host to 12,500 fans in Trafalgar Square, with Westminster councillors due to make a decision on a licence later this month. Plans for a “football village” in Potters Fields Park in Southwark are also being considered.
“We can confirm that Greenwich Park will not be used as a fan zone during the Euro 2020 tournament this summer,” a Royal Parks spokesperson told 853.
At present, London is still due to host seven matches, beginning with England v Croatia on Sunday 13 June, with a limited number of fans able to attend matches. The FA has said it is able to host more matches if other cities are unable to open their stadiums.
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