The Three Lions will get a huge open top bus parade through London if England lifts the Euro 2024 trophy this Sunday, it has been revealed.
The celebratory parade would take Gareth Southgate‘s squad from Guildhall in the City of London to Buckingham Palace where they would be honoured by King Charles and the rest of the Royal Family.
Preparations are already underway for the massive event which is dependent on England beating Spain in the final, the Evening Standard has reported.
It could see up to one million fans line the street to welcome the Three Lions team home.
The rumours come after the Lionesses were controversially denied a victory bus parade in 2022 after their Euros victory against Germany.
Critics pointed the finger at London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the Football Association (FA) in a decision that was branded ‘disgusting’ at the time.
The Three Lions will get a huge open top bus parade through London if England lift the Euro 2024 trophy this Sunday, it has been revealed
England celebrate their 1966 world cup win with a bus tour in London
Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Phil Foden of England and their teammates celebrate winning the UEFA EURO 2024 semi-final match
Ollie Watkins leads the celebrations after scoring a historic winner for England
The England team and staff pose for a photo during the celebration at Trafalgar Square in London following their Euros victory
England fans gather at Trafalgar Square in London for the Euro 2022 victory party – but there was great anger at the lack of a parade
The open top bus parade would kick off two days of celebrations on Monday with the team also lined up to meet newly-elected prime minster Sir Keir Starmer at Downing Street.
Sir Keir is expected to travel to Berlin to watch the game on Sunday with England looking to clinch their first major trophy since 1966.
That year, England captain Bobby Moore was presented with the trophy by the Queen at Wembley Stadium.
The team also celebrated their 4-2 win against West Germany with a huge bus tour through London.
Prince William, who is president of the FA, has been pipped to head up the royal reception at Guildhall.
England booked their place in the final after they knocked out the Netherlands in a tantalising semi-final last night.
Ollie Watkins put a winner in the back of the net in the 90th minute sparking wild celebrations from fans watching in the stadium and at home.
People across England partied into the early hours as they paid tribute to their heroes, with chants of ‘It’s coming home’ echoing long into the night following the stunning 2-1 victory as football fans revelled in the atmosphere.
The scenes of euphoria were widespread – in fan zones in London and Manchester, there were scenes of wild celebration, while pubs and bars across the country were full of happy punters before spilling out into the streets in the early morning after last orders.
Even US indie rockers The Killers got involved, playing the last moments of the match on a big screen during their gig at the O2 Arena in London, before barrelling into a rousing rendition of Mr Brightside.
There were also scenes of ecstasy in Dortmund where the match was being played with super-sub Watkins, who came on to replace captain Harry Kane – who himself had brought England level with a penalty in the first-half to cancel out Xavi Simons’ wonder strike – touchingly sharing the moment with his mother and girlfriend.
England fans at the AO Arena in Manchester during a screening of the semi-final match
Harry Kane celebrates after scoring a penalty against the Netherlands
England fans at Millennium Square, Leeds, during a screening of England’s semi-final
His last minute winner sent England fans wild as the Euros dream inches closer
Southgate’s squad will now attempt to go one step further than Euro 2020, when they also reached the final but lost to Italy on penalties at Wembley.
Nervous England fans suffered early heartbreak when Simons opened the scoring with a thunderbolt shortly after kick-off. But their agony turned into euphoria when Kane equalised from the spot in the 18th minute.
With the game heading to extra-time again, Watkins – who had only been on the pitch nine minutes – clinched a historic winner in the 90th minute, prompting England’s substitutes to run onto the pitch, as pints flew across pubs and fan zones at home.
After the match England’s newest hero touchingly celebrated with his partner Ellie Alderson and his mother who were both in the stands.
Among the England fans watching abroad was Sir Keir Starmer who managed to catch Kane’s goal in a room with his Dutch counterpart – as they are both in Washington for the Nato summit.
The Prime Minister got out of his seat as the spot-kick was drilled home, then shook hands with the Netherlands’ PM Dick Schoof.
Sir Keir, who has confirmed that he will attend the final in Berlin on Sunday, posted on X: ‘Picked the right moment to pop out from Nato meetings and check the score…’
Kane’s penalty was controversially awarded by VAR after he went down from a Denzel Dumfries challenge in the aftermath of blazing a strike over the crossbar. But the England captain was not going to complain – and made no mistake in dispatching the penalty into the corner.
In a much-improved England performance, the Three Lions then nearly doubled their lead as Phil Foden danced around several defenders in the box before rolling the ball under the keeper only to see his effort hooked off the line by Dumfries at the critical moment.
The heavily-involved Dumfries almost made amends for giving away a penalty minutes later as he crashed a header off the bar from a corner.
But an electric England pushed for another and Foden came inches away from doing so, curling a stunning effort against the woodwork himself, before the break.
With 30 minutes remaining, the Netherlands came back into the game, seeing more of the ball as the semi-final became more even as England fans watched the game through their fingers.
Their pressure almost paid off as Virgil Van Dijk forced a smart save out of Pickford to keep the scores level in the 65th minute.
The Three Lions crowd around Ollie Watkins after he scored the winner against the Netherlands
Ecstatic England fans react at Manchester’s AO Arena as England score against Netherlands
The substitute scored just minutes after coming onto the pitch, prompting England’s substitutes to flood onto the pitch
England fans were sent into raptures again with 11 minutes to go as Saka gave the Three Lions the lead, finishing off a brilliant team goal. But their cheers soon turned to despair as the offside flag ruled that Walker – who cut the ball back for Saka – was offside in the lead-up.
Moving into the final seven minutes, Marc Guehi brilliantly intervened to block Wout Weghorst from scoring at the other end.
And the memory of Saka’s goal being ruled out was all forgotten about when Cole Palmer played Ollie Watkins in, who swiveled his body and fired a strike into the bottom left corner with seconds to go to send England to Berlin.
Shortly after full-time, King Charles and Queen Camilla congratulated the team, with a statement. His Majesty said: ‘My wife and I join all our family in wishing you the warmest congratulations on reaching the final of the U.E.F.A. European Championship – and in sending our very best wishes for Sunday’s match.
‘If I may encourage you to secure victory before the need for any last minute wonder-goals or another penalties drama, I am sure the stresses on the nation’s collective heart rate and blood pressure would be greatly alleviated! Good luck, England. Charles R.’
Prince William, the president of the FA and a lifelong Aston Villa fan, tweeted: ‘What a beauty, Ollie! Congratulations England! #EURO2024 Finalists. W.’
