World Cup 2018: How are fans making sure they see England play Sweden?

  • Published
Fans in Flat Iron Square, LondonImage source, Reuters

England's progress in the World Cup may have delighted the nation - but it's also taken some by surprise.

A whopping 23.6 million tuned in to watch England beat Colombia in a historic penalty shoot-out on Tuesday, with all eyes now on the quarter-final against Sweden in Samara.

But with the match happening on a sunny Saturday afternoon, some people who didn't expect England to do quite so well, or who perhaps hadn't been interested in the tournament until now, are facing a clash.

So, what are people doing to make sure they see the game?

'We cancelled our flights'

Image source, Michael Simpson
Image caption,

Michael Simpson and Tom Dillon cancelled their flight home

What do you do if you're due to take off at the same time as the 15:00 kick-off? For England fans Michael Simpson and Tom Dillon, there was only one solution - cancel your flight back to England.

They've been on holiday in Portugal for a week but when they realised they would miss the game if they got their flight from Lisbon to London, they decided to rearrange their travel plans.

"We're now flying back from Faro, about three hours from Lisbon," said Michael, who's been staying in a villa with friends just outside the Portuguese city.

"So we will watch the game in Lisbon and then stay in Faro, before flying back to London on Sunday. We've had to pay about another 130 euros each but it's worth it.

"It's a childhood dream to see England win the World Cup. So whether that meant staying in Portugal or coming back early, we just couldn't miss it.

"In the end, we couldn't get an earlier flight, so football's coming home - but we're not."

Kane to headline at Wireless... kind of

Image source, EPA
Image caption,

Editors, seen performing earlier this summer, will play their set as planned

Thousands of music fans will be heading to Finsbury Park, London, for Wireless Festival this weekend, which left organisers with a dilemma about what to do at 15:00 on Saturday.

Their solution? To stop the music on the main stage and screen the big game there instead. The last act before the match starts is 6Lack, who's due to finish his set at 14:55. Cue plenty of moshing if England win.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post by Wireless Festival

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post by Wireless Festival

They're not doing the same for British Summer Time Hyde Park though, with Editors' set - which clashes with the crucial England game - carrying on as planned.

Frontman Tom Smith has accepted that some people will stay away, saying: "I'm sure many won't come to the gig until the game finishes... but many will, plus I'm sure loads will have it on on their phones whilst we play - and I for one can't wait to soundtrack Spurs' dire attempts to score a goal in open play for those World Cup crazy technologically savvy sunburnt goths stood in Hyde Park this Saturday afternoon."

The festival's director, Jim King, said it would be wrong to stop the music when "people paid a lot of money to come and see all of those bands".

Another music festival, Sunniside Live in Sunderland, is going to be showing the game on the side of a double-decker bus. And luckily, the headliners on Saturday are The Lightning Seeds, who co-wrote football anthem Three Lions - so expect a mass singalong later in the evening.

Mamma Mia! What's the score again?

Image source, Brinkhoff-Moegenburg

The musical Mamma Mia!, written, of course, by Swedish musicians Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson from Abba, is having a matinee showing on Saturday afternoon.

And yes, you've guessed it - it starts exactly the same time as the Sweden v England game.

At the interval, which coincides with the second half of the match starting, the score will be announced to the audience.

A spokeswoman said: "If it is a good result for England, we are planning to announce the final score at the end of the show."

Audience members will be reminded to switch their phones off at the beginning of the performance - perhaps a wise move, given the fury actors felt when two women followed England's penalty shoot-out victory on their phones at a theatre earlier this week.

'I do... but only after the final whistle'

Image source, Marita Phenix

Paul Leadbeater and Marita Phenix thought they had planned their wedding day at Sunderland's Stadium of Light perfectly to avoid it clashing with any games.

But then, England ended up doing slightly better than they expected.

They'll still be getting hitched on the pitch in Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson's home town, but only after the final whistle has blown. That's assuming it doesn't go to penalties again, that is.

"Guests have been asking what's happening so we had to put it back to 17:15," he said. "Hopefully it won't go beyond that, or I'm not sure what will happen. But the stadium has been very accommodating and the game will be screened in one of the bars.

"My fiancée, who's got a season ticket to Sunderland, will be watching too, just not with me."

And what happens if the result isn't as the happy couple hope?

"I'm not thinking about England not winning," said Paul. "So hopefully everyone will be on a high when the wedding begins. The only downside is everyone will have had a few more drinks."

Meanwhile one woman, according to a Mumsnet post, has banned guests from checking their phones at her wedding on Saturday and is declaring the venue a "football-free zone".

And spare a thought too, for Nick Boles, Conservative MP for Grantham and Stamford, who says he's grappling with a moral dilemma as his niece is getting married at 16:00.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post 2 by Nick Boles MP

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post 2 by Nick Boles MP

'Overexcited adults'

It's the time of year when many schools are finishing ahead of the summer holidays, with school fetes planned for Saturday. But with fears that eyes may be on phone screens following the game, rather than concentrating on the coconut shy, some schools have changed their plans.

One primary school in Richmond, south-west London, has brought the time of their fair forward, with one employee saying it had been a "nightmare", adding: "Parents didn't want to be here, and then we had the issue of whether or not we'd screen it. We also thought the adults might be a bit overexcited."

And another in Surrey that has also done the same, with events now finishing an hour before kick-off, said parents - and teachers - wouldn't even have been able to follow events on their phones as they aren't allowed on the school site.

Pride sends good vibes

Image source, PA
Image caption,

Thousands of people turned out for Pride last year

About a million people went to Pride in London last year - and organisers have admitted some may end up "multitasking" this year.

They're not showing the game at the annual parade, but have wished lots of luck to the England team.

Alison Camps, co-chairwoman of Pride in London, said: "We obviously wish the England team all the best, we are hoping that all the rainbows, unicorns and glitter will work their magic and send good vibes over to Russia.

"I imagine there will be a lot of multitasking - I'm hoping there will be even more people celebrating on the streets after England have a famous victory."

(Other) sporting events

Just because sports fans from all over the nation will have their eyes on goings-on in Samara, doesn't mean that the game will stop play.

Wimbledon has already been declared a World Cup-free zone.

Henley Royal Regatta is not showing the game either - but football fans can see it elsewhere in the town, including at the enclosure of nightclub Chinawhite.

There's also qualifying at Silverstone, ahead of the British Grand Prix on Sunday. It starts at 14:00, but Silverstone has said five different areas of the racetrack will be screening the game.