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Bars, house parties and fan zones: Where and how can you watch Euro 2020 matches in Italy?

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Bars, house parties and fan zones: Where and how can you watch Euro 2020 matches in Italy?
Fans watch the Turkey vs Italy match at a bar in Rome on June 11th. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

The delayed Euro 2020 football tournament is now underway, so what are the options for those who want to watch the matches in public places in Italy?

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Postponed for a year due to the pandemic, the Euro 2020 football tournament is this year being held in 11 different European cities with limited crowds inside stadiums.

Rome is one of the host cities, including for Italy's three group stage matches and a quarter-final game on July 3rd.

But with capacity currently limited at stadiums and fewer people likely to travel amid the pandemic, what are the options if you're watching in other public places in order to soak up the atmosphere (and some beer)?

Fan zones

Rome has a large dedicated fan zone for watching games on big screens within the football village at Piazza del Popolo. Said to be the largest fan zone in Europe, it has a maximum capacity of 2,000 people.

To enter, people must fill out a self-certification form,wear masks and have their body temperature scanned. No proof of coronavirus testing or vaccination is required.

Fans watching Italy vs Turkey on Piazza del Popolo in Rome. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

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For concerts and other events at the football village, advance booking is required at the official website.

Other Italian cities do not have official fan zones - at least for the early stages of the tournament, but they may introduce them if Italy makes it to the later stages.

Curfew

Parts of Italy under ‘yellow zone’ rules are still under a midnight-5am curfew, which put a dampener on some of the celebrations in Italian cities after Italy’s 3-0 win against Turkey on Friday June 11th.

However a growing number of regions are now in the low-risk ‘white’ zone, which means they can scrap the curfew and most other rules. This includes Rome’s Lazio region and Lombardy, which includes Milan.

If the health situation permits, the curfew will be scrapped completely on June 21st, so the quarter-finals onwards will be curfew-free.

Bars and cafes

Bars, cafes or restaurants which want to screen the matches to customers are allowed to do so, but have to stick to the usual set of health rules for guests.

Indoors, under current ‘white zone’ rules, no more than six people are allowed to share a table, and each table is supposed to be at least one metre away from the next or separated from it by a divider.

More of you can sit together if you all share the same house (or say you do, though we don’t encourage you to lie).

There’s no longer a limit on the number of people who can sit together in outdoor seating areas, and there’s no restriction on the number of people who can stand there, either - though local authorities may bring in their own rules if large crowds start to form.

The standard rules on masks and physical distancing apply: masks should be worn whenever not sitting down at your table, including when you get up to pay the bill and go to the toilet.

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Public and private gatherings

The rules under Italy’s current set of emergency measures state that public events can be held without any limits “provided that, during them, the prescribed social distancing and other containment measures are observed.” This includes the requirement to wear a mask at all times in public, indoors or outdoors.

In the yellow zone, the rules still state that no more than four people (not including children) can visit another household, within curfew hours and no more than once per day.

In the white zone there’s no limit on the number of people who can visit another private home, but it remains forbidden to organize large private gatherings. So you can invite friends for dinner, but house parties would be against the rules. 

People are still advised to keep gatherings small and maintain physical distancing.

For more information on the current restrictions please see the Italian Health Ministry’s website (in English).

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