Cinemas across England will be showing the Euro 2024 football final on Sunday, July 14, as the England men’s team take on Spain at 20.00 BST.
41 Everyman venues will be showing the match, with tickets costing £10 and including popcorn and a drink. Everyman sites showing the game include 12 in London, nine in the North of England – and even the Everyman Edinburgh in Scotland. Screenings will start at 19.30, 30 minutes before kick-off.
Five Picturehouse sites in London are showing the match for free, at Clapham, Crouch End, Hackney, the Ritzy and West Norwood.
12-strong UK exhibitor The Light is also screening the match at several of its venues, including Bolton, Bradford and Cambridge.
Independent venues playing the game include Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema in its main Classic screen for free; London’s Genesis Cinema in Mile End, where the £6.50 ticket includes a drink; and Nottingham’s Broadway cinema.
However, at time of writing none of the three major chains in the UK will be showing the game. Vue has confirmed to Screen that it will not broadcast the match, while neither Cineworld (which owns Picturehouse) or Odeon are currently listing it at their venues.
Phil Clapp, chief executive at UK exhibitors body the UK Cinema Association, says this is due to a change of heart from European football governing body UEFA.
“The UKCA has attempted to play a proactive role in ensuring that our members are able to navigate the rights issues around showing high profile sporting and cultural events,” said Clapp.
“With the Euros, UEFA eventually informed us that UK cinemas (and theatres) were not able to screen matches. We then found out that they were in fact offering licences to some of our members.
“As a result, the picture is a mixed one, and screenings are certainly not as widespread as might have been expected with a more straightforward process.”
Clapp noted that while the process for live events such as Eurovision is straightforward and through a UK distributor (CinemaLive in that case), for other events – in particular sporting ones – it “can be a frustrating process of trying to find who in the bodies overseeing each event is able to advise.”
Asked about the licensing situation, UEFA directed Screen to its licensing regulations for public screenings. The organisation separates licenses into two categories: non-commercial screenings, which are free entry and have no commercial aspect; and commercial screenings, which either charge an entrance fee or have a commercial sponsorship element.
“For both categories, a public screening licence from UEFA is compulsory,” reads the regulations. “The grant of a non-commercial public screening licence is free of charge while the grant of a commercial public screening licence is subject to a licence fee.”
England reached the final after beating the Netherlands on Wednesday, July 10 with a last-minute goal from Ollie Watkins in a 2-1 win.
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