City’s Euros bid could provide £150 million boost

The city is in the process of confirming its commitment to be involved in the Football Association’s (The FA) bid to host the 2028 men’s European Championships in the UK and Ireland. 

A successful bid would see fixtures from the competition take place at St James’ Park for the first time since England held the tournament in 1996. 

Forecasts have highlighted the huge economic impact the tournament would bring to each host city, with a significant number of jobs created for local people, a boost to local skills, and expenditure from the huge number of visitors to the city during the tournament if selected as part of the bid. 

Cllr Nick Kemp, Leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “The possibility of hosting one of the world’s biggest sporting events in our city is incredibly exciting and it would be brilliant to be able to deliver this for our residents. 

“We are renowned for our capability to host world-class events in Newcastle and our track record speaks for itself. We’ve just hosted the opening ceremony and fixture of the Rugby League World Cup, we’ve previously staged fixtures from the Rugby World Cup, the European Rugby Champions and Challenge Cups, and each year the world’s biggest half-marathon begins in our city. 

“The social and economic benefits of being involved in such a global event, with billions of tv viewers around the world seeing what Newcastle can deliver while providing jobs and opportunities for residents, makes it a truly exciting prospect for us and an opportunity we want to make sure we properly explore.” 

Elected Metro Mayor for the North of Tyne, Jamie Driscoll, said: "I'm buzzing about this. A chance to show off this great city to the world. To bring people together, from around Europe – united by their love of the beautiful game. To write another chapter in the history of St James’ Park. Fingers crossed for a successful bid!" 

Darren Eales, Newcastle United CEO, said: “We are proud to be working with Newcastle City Council, North of Tyne Combined Authority and our other partners as we look to deliver even more world-class events to the North East. 

"Newcastle is an incredible city and, in St. James' Park, we have an iconic stadium that is world-renowned as a special place to experience football. 

"Together with our city partners, we hope to support the Football Association in a strong five-nation bid to secure the Euros in 2028." 

The FA is expected to confirm its final selection of host cities in January 2023 while UEFA, European football’s governing body, will announce the Euro 2028 host nation in September 2023.