European Stadiums To Allow Live Audience During UEFA Euros

European soccer association UEFA has published information on the amount of people that will be allowed to attend inside the stadiums across the various hosting countries.

Saint Petersburg and Baku have confirmed capacities of 50%, while Budapest aims to host 100% of the Puskás Arena’s capacity, with strict entry requirements in place. The stadium’s official capacity is 67,215.

Amsterdam, Bucharest, Copenhagen and Glasgow will be hosting 25%–33% of the stadium capacity, and London confirmed a minimum capacity of 25% for the first three group matches and the round-of-16.

According to the UEFA, “Amsterdam, Bucharest, Copenhagen and Saint Petersburg are keeping open the option until end of April to increase the number of fans allowed in the stadiums. London are also hoping to confirm a higher capacity for the semi-finals and final in early June.”

Bilbao, Dublin, Munich and Rome have until April 19 to make announcements regarding a possible live audience on site. By then, the respective governments are expected to have given an update on the Covid restrictions they plan to impose.

Factors taken into consideration include the local vaccination rollout, reopening plans and the expected warm weather, in which the virus is reported not to thrive.

How many of the people in attendance will be able to travel from abroad remains to be seen, as there are currently various travel bans and restrictions in place across the continent.

The UEFA emphasised that ticket holders won’t be exempt from any border entry restrictions and enforced requirements ?in place at the time of travel. 

“This may include the obligation to quarantine, provide a negative COVID-19 test result, a limit on length of stay, etc. In some cases, entry to a host country from abroad may not be permitted at all,” the association states on its website.

However, Hungary, Azerbaijan and Russia have announced exemptions: ticket holders travelling to Budapest aren’t required to quarantine, but are required to show two negative COVID-19 test results.

International travel to Baku is banned for non-residents, but ticket holders who are “citizens and/or residents” of Turkey, Switzerland and the UK, plus quarter-finalist countries, will be able to obtain a visa. They exempt from having to quarantine provided they can produce a negative COVID-19 test result.

The exemptions for ticket holders planning to travel to Saint Petersburg, Russia, are still in development.

Last but not least, Bucharest may exempt ticket holders from quarantining if they can present a negative COVID-19 test result and limit their stay to less than three days.

As far as the entry procedures during the Euros are concerned, UEFA has provided initial information, as well:

Each ticket holder will be assigned a 30-minute entry window to arrive at the stadium. A face mask is obligatory at all times, other measures may include temperature checks or rapid tests, but as UEFA points out, “every stadium will be a little bit different.”

All of the above information is subject to change depending on how the situation develops in each country.