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Football final fan zone plan faces opposition

BBC/Thomas Magill Amanda WhitesideBBC/Thomas Magill
Amanda Whiteside fears what might happen if an incident happened in the fan zone

Plans for a fan zone in central London during the Champions League final in June have been criticised by residents and businesses in the area.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) wants to close off the road next to Embankment Underground Station between Westminster Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge, including Villiers Street and Victoria Embankment Gardens.

Amanda Whiteside, who runs Gordon’s Wine Bar in Villiers Street, said she felt it was the wrong location for a fan zone.

The GLA and Westminster City Council said they did not want to comment as the plan was subject to an ongoing licensing application.

Ms Whiteside said she feared that if an incident occurred in the area, emergency services would struggle to react.

She described Villiers Street as London's second busiest thoroughfare.

Fans look disappointed in Trafalgar Square as they watch a screen during a Euro 2021 match
Trafalgar Square hosted a fan zone during England's Euro 2021 campaign

"If you have got 30,000 or 40,000 people coming through, it will be impossible," Ms Whiteside said.

"If something happens, how do we get emergency services down here and how do we get through the vast numbers of people?"

She also said businesses in the area would suffer because of the noise and sheer number of people.

"There’s going to be live entertainment and music broadcasting throughout the day until the match is finished, late into the evening.

"The volume of noise would be very unpleasant for our customers".

BBC/Thomas Magill Martin DeutzBBC/Thomas Magill
Resident Martin Deutz said he had received "no information" from the GLA

Some residents have also complained that the GLA, which has submitted a licencing application, had failed to consult them.

Martin Deutz lives in Craven Street, which is next to one of the entrances to the proposed fan zone.

He said he was concerned about a repeat of 2021, when some fans turned violent after the Euro final.

He said: "It's the violence, it's the scale of it and it's the concern that no event of this type has been held on the Embankment.

"The GLA has given no information about how the crowds will be controlled or how they will be managed and kept to areas where they will be safe".

A decision will be made on the application in the coming weeks.

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