Packed pubs. Everyone wearing football shirts. Late-night pints with friends. World Cup fever has truly taken over the capital.
England had a great start to the tournament with a 4-2 win over Croatia, with a less promising second match resulting in a 0-0 draw against Ghana. However, it’s a foregone conclusion that no matter the result of their next match taking place on Saturday, they are proceeding past the group stages.
It’s got everyone asking the same question: if we win the tournament, will we get the day off to celebrate?
A Scottish World Cup bank holiday already approved
Hopes of a potential bank holiday have increased since a new bank holiday was approved in Scotland, so that supporters could watch a late-night match starting at 2am UK time, and recover on the Monday. The bank holiday occurred on 15 June, after the day off was approved by King Charles.
Will England get a bank holiday too?
Although an Early Day Motion for a bank holiday on 20th July was submitted by MP’s, no bank holiday has been confirmed. The motion stated, that a World Cup victory by England would be a rare national moment likely to bring together families, neighbours and communities across the country, including through local celebrations in town centres, community venues and grassroots sports clubs.”
When Keir Starmer was questioned on national TV, on 15 June prior to his resignation, he refused to confirm or deny if there are any bank holiday plans in the making, simply stating “We don’t want to jinx the outcome.”
Many people took this statement to leave the door open for a potential bank holiday, especially as Starmer was a well-known football fan, supporting London’s very own Arsenal and backing a plan for a bank holiday when the Lionesses won the Euros in 2022. However, with the footie-mad former PM out of the picture, it’s still unclear if a bank holiday is on the cards.
With Tushel’s team many matches away from the World Cup final, we might have to focus on a winning streak before thinking about a bank holiday.
