This archive report was first published on 23 April 2020.
On April 23, 2020, UEFA made the unprecedented decision to postpone the Euro 2020 tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was made after football across the continent came to a halt, with over 110,000 people having died from the virus in Europe by then.
However, in a surprising move, UEFA has confirmed that the tournament will retain its original name, Euro 2020, despite being postponed to 2021. This decision was made during a videoconference meeting of the European football governing body's Executive Committee.
According to UEFA, maintaining the original name is a way of remembering the pandemic and the difficult times faced by the continent. Additionally, the governing body had already produced large amounts of branded merchandise before the tournament was postponed, and changing the name would have resulted in the destruction and reproduction of these items.
"This choice is in line with UEFA's commitment to make Euro 2020 sustainable and not to generate additional amounts of waste," the governing body stated. The tournament is now scheduled to take place from June 11 to July 11, 2021, and will feature 24 teams competing in 12 different cities across the continent, with the semi-finals and final in London.
