Euro 2024: England fans’ weird and wonderful path to final – BBC News

England have done it again – they’ve made it to a Euros final. Facing Spain on Sunday, the team hopes to bring football home and become men’s European champions for the first time.

Following England is always a journey – here are some of the unique ways fans have been marking the occasion.

One England superfan who will be there in Berlin is 56-year-old Ian Odgers from Dereham, Norfolk. He marks his away trips with a tattoo of every passport stamp he gets when England play overseas.

Mr Odgers’ passion for England was ignited when he attended his first game at the age of 12 – and he made it his life’s ambition to follow the side.

He thinks he’s travelled to more than 20 countries as a supporter at about 60 matches overseas – and started documenting his football trips with a series of tattoos about five years ago.

The production planner’s dedication to supporting England has propelled him into the FA’s highest tier of fans, a group known as the “top cappers”, who can mostly get guaranteed tickets.

“We describe ourselves as the ‘same old faces, different places’,” Mr Odgers said.

“Coming from different parts of the country, taking different routes across Europe to ultimately do the one thing we love – which is supporting the country.”

Some England fans were lucky enough to meet Gareth Southgate in person ahead of the Netherlands v England semi-final – or so you might think from the viral footage filmed by one supporter.

Tourists in Dortmund spotted a police officer who bore a strong resemblance to the Three Lions’ coach.

Singing the fan-favourite adaptation of Atomic Kitten’s Whole Again, supporters surrounded the bemused but humoured cop to tell him football was “coming home again”.

The video, filmed by Rob Toone from Derby, was shared widely on social media, including by the German Embassy in London.

Oldham Council leader Arooj Shah sparked outrage by calling for a vote to end a council meeting early so councillors could “watch the Euros” – something councillors debated until just before kick-off.

The Labour Cabinet Member said while she “wasn’t a big fan of the game” herself, she thought it was “important to celebrate big national moments”.

The meeting began at 18:00 BST on Wednesday and was due to run until 21:00 – kick-off for England’s semi-final against the Dutch was at 20:00.

But Liberal Democrat councillor Howard Sykes opposed the suggestion, saying: “I think the public will be absolutely furious that Labour suggested this.”

Ultimately his suggestion to reject the early end time was outvoted, and the meeting ended at 20:00 BST – just as the whistle blew.

Rich said it was “lovely to see” everyone enjoying the sign, which is a homage to the England manager.

“It all started in 2018 when Tom photoshopped something about Gareth Southgate Street and put it on Twitter,” he said.

“Because I’m an idiot I thought I’ll get this printed for the World Cup, I cycled past and put it up.”

The pair put the sign up near Southgate House ahead of England’s Euros match against Denmark in 2021, with the addition of a second one on the street’s corner with Spa Road.

Images of India and Pakistan cricket fans uniting to cheer on England’s football team could only have been captured in the West Midlands, the man who caught the moment said.

The historic rivalry at India-Pakistan matches is usually “very fierce, very bitter,” but suddenly “we were all united, just glued to the screen”, Mr Bhangal said.

The clip has racked up more than nine million views on X and has been shared by high profile figures such as Gary Lineker, Hugh Grant and Adil Ray.

The cricket fans were at Edgbaston to watch India and Pakistan play in the World Championship of Legends, a contest for retired and non-contracted players.

Mr Bhangal said people soon started watching England’s Euros match on their phones, before persuading bars inside the stadium to switch their TVs to the football.

“The crowds just got bigger and bigger, until the whole concourse was absolutely flooded,” he told BBC Radio WM, adding that he had travelled from London for the cricket and still abandoned his front-row seat to watch the football.

Thousands of fans with tickets to see The Killers at London’s O2 arena on Wednesday night thought they would have to miss England’s semi-final – but the band had a solution.

And, as the crowd erupted at the final whistle, the band ramped up the celebrations by immediately launching into their euphoric anthem Mr Brightside.

Frontman Brandon Flowers was pictured at the front of the O2 stage watching the final minutes with the fans, before red and white streamers were fired over the jubilant crowd at full-time.

“I’ve been to some pretty cool gigs in my time and I had mixed feelings when I realised my birthday present was the Killers at the O2 tonight clashing with the semi-final,” wrote author and journalist Tim Shipman on X.

“Then they did this and we went from delirium to my favourite song. Perfection.”

It wasn’t the first performance to be disrupted by England’s Euros journey.

Last Saturday, with the audience ready and waiting, James Corden delayed his own play to watch England’s quarter final penalty shootout against Switzerland on stage.

The Constituent was held up whilst the star narrated the sporting drama to the entire auditorium whilst watching it on his tablet.

Sunday’s final will kick off at 20:00 BST and will be shown live on BBC One and the iPlayer, with pre-match coverage starting at 18:30.

You can also listen to commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live, with build-up under way from 18:00.

And there will be live text commentary from 17:00 on Sunday on the BBC Sport website and app.