How likely it is England will get a bank holiday for winning Euros as people call for one
The countdown is officially on for the arguably biggest football game of the year, as England prepare to take on fellow semi-finalists Spain in the eagerly-awaited grand finale of Euros 2024.
And with the nation getting behind Gareth Southgate's team for the last time throughout this monumental tournament, many fans are wondering what a win could mean for Brits, with talk of an extra bank holiday being thrown around.
Despite some controversial kick off arrangements put in place by their manager, England have proven time and time again throughout this year's competition that they're the team to beat.
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Led by captain Harry Kane, fronted by regular trailblazers Bukayo Saka, Jordan Pickford, Phil Foden and Kyle Walker and joined by several newbies, England have stormed their way through the ranks, in spite of a rocky start.
Though they came out of Group C on top, they initially had limited celebrations to rave about, having only beat Serbia 1-0 during a nail-biter, drawn 1-1 against Denmark and endured a goalless game against Slovenia.
Later, however, Jude Bellingham saved the day when it came to the nerve-wracking match against Slovenia, and the weekend saw a heart-stopping victory against Switzerland in penalties.
And all eyes fell onto the team of 11 last night during their semi-final game against the Netherlands, at the end of which Ollie Watkins sealed a place in the grand finale following a sublime goal when the clock was about to hit 90 minutes.
Naturally, therefore, millions of footie fans are hoping and manifesting that England are able to retain the fire the last few rounds when it comes to Sunday night's game against Spain.
Amongst the numerous prayers being said this week with regards to England's win, however, is that of a potential bank holiday being put in place to celebrate the victory.
And apparently, we're not completely bonkers by making such a plea, being that newly-appointed PM Sir Keir Starmer has already hinted at such a festivity.
The 61-year-old previously called for a 'proper day of celebration' if either the men's team won at the Euros in 2020, or the Lionesses did at the World Cup in 2023 - which they did, just saying...
Annoyingly, however, in true political style, the Labour rep may have already gone back on his promise.
"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," he told press back in April.
"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," he added.
Though we don't recommend you make plans to bunk off work yet, you can certainly keep your fingers crossed that the boys finally bring it home.
Rhianna Benson