PostedJuly 20, 2022, 2:56 PM
Euro in England: The first round of Euro 2022 in numbers
The European Championship in England has so far been a resounding success, on and off the field. Anthology of figures and anecdotes, before attacking the serious things Wednesday evening.
It was known even before the start of hostilities: the competition was going to break a record for tickets sold. It is now largely done and even well done. The players had attracted around 240,000 supporters 5 years ago in the Netherlands, to see the local team win the continental title. This year, more than half a million tickets have already been sold. Record doubled! The first round alone attracted 369,314 spectators, an average of more than 15,000 per game.
The attendance record for a Women’s Euro match also fell. The opening match at Old Trafford (England-Austria 1-0) attracted 68,871 fans. The reference mark dated from 2013. The final of the Euro in Sweden, in Solna, had then been followed by 41,301 people. The record will fall once more in 10 days. The final at Wembley is announced sold out and therefore nearly 90,000 tickets in nature.
It’s not just England that have filled the bays of local stadiums, far from it. Never, in fact, games not involving the host team had been so popular. The record even fell three times in a few days. It was first the Spain-Finland match which attracted 16,819 people. Then, Netherlands-Sweden brought in 21,342 fans. In the end, it was the game between Switzerland and the Netherlands that ended up on top, when 22,596 women’s football followers invaded Bramall Lane in Sheffield.
The televisions do not have to complain regarding the performances of the footballers either. In France, for example, the meeting between France and Belgium enabled TF1 to achieve the best audience of the evening in France. And July 14 please. More than 4 million French people were in front of their TV that evening. The English BBC gathered as many viewers for the opening match, in the host country.
The organizers had chosen to select stadiums rather on the outskirts of the big cities and the latter can only welcome this. The city of Sheffield, for example, saw its city center experience a 22% increase in usual footfall on Netherlands-Sweden Day. These towns have all been equipped with “fan parties” and more than 90,000 supporters have visited these places.
There is also the sports component, which has seen a few records fall. England, for example, have become the greatest strike force in the history of a 1st round of the Euro with the 14 goals they have scored in three games. Thanks in particular to his striker Beth Mead, author of 5 goals, which had never happened. Northern Irishwoman Julie Nelson, scorer once morest Norway, became the oldest scorer of a Euro, at 37 years and 33 days.