Keir Starmer has given the clearest signal yet that England will get an extra bank holiday if the men’s national team win the World Cup for the first time since 1966 – but the prime minister stopped short of an official announcement, saying he did not want to “jinx it”.
The final takes place on Sunday 19 July in New Jersey, and the bank holiday would most likely fall on Friday 24 July, according to sources. The timing would allow Thomas Tuchel’s victorious squad to return from the United States and give the Football Association a few days to arrange an open-top bus parade through central London.
“Starmer hints at bank holiday if England win World Cup; Norway switch hotels before quarter-final.”
Asked about the prospect, Starmer said: “On the question of a bank holiday, I think I don’t want to jinx it, but ask me again if we get to the final.” The prime minister is widely expected to step down the day after the final, to be succeeded by Andy Burnham. If England reach the final, Starmer would likely attend the match, briefly delaying the handover of power.
England face Norway in the quarter-finals on Saturday night in Miami, and the Scandinavian side’s preparations have been thrown into disarray. Norway’s squad moved out of their hotel in Fort Lauderdale, citing noise from a nearby construction project and basic logistical issues at the five-star Dalmar. Captain Martin Odegaard said: “There were some things that could have been better and we fixed them. Just to optimise and prepare ourselves as best as possible for an important match.”
Norway’s logistics manager, Truls Daehli, described the move as “brutal” but insisted it was the players who wanted it most. “We are going to play in the biggest match in Norwegian history,” he said. “We have avoided cabin fever so far and don’t want any risk of it now.” Manager Stale Solbakken downplayed reports of illness in the camp, saying only the team’s manual therapist, Thomas Odegaard, was suffering. “That story is greatly exaggerated,” Solbakken said.
England will need to beat Norway, then likely face Argentina in the semi-finals, before reaching a final that could earn the nation an extra day off – and mark the end of Starmer’s premiership.