When does Euro 2024 start? Key dates in Germany including opening ceremony, group stage and final

England and Scotland have secured their places at Euro 2024 and both nations are eagerly anticipating tournament football next summer.

The Three Lions roared to qualification with two games to spare after two victories over reigning champions Italy, while also beating the likes of Ukraine, Malta and North Macedonia. Scotland also prevailed from their group stage campaign in similarly efficient fashion. They recorded a shock victory over three-time European champions Spain and also defeated the likes of Georgia, Cyprus and a Norway team spearheaded by Erling Haaland.

The two sides will both find out their fate in the highly anticipated group stage draw in Hamburg later this year, but when does Euro 2024 start and what are the key dates for fans to mark on their calendars next summer?Here’s all you need to know.

When does Euro 2024 start?

The 17th edition of the European Championships will begin on Friday 14 June 2024. Host nation Germany will stage their opening ceremony at the Allianz Arena in Munich and their first Group A game kicks off that same evening at around 7pm UK time.

A total of 24 teams will compete in the competition and they are all split into six groups of four during the draw. Each team will play three games in their group in a round-robin format. The top two ranked teams from each group will automatically progress to the knockout stage of the competition where they will be joined by the three best performing third-place teams.

The group stage of the competition runs from 14 June to 26 June with each nation playing a minimum of three games in the tournament.

Key knockout stage dates

The Euro 2024 knockout stage begins on Saturday 29 June as the 16 remaining teams battle it out for a place in the final in Berlin.

Here are the key dates for all of the knockout matches at Euro 2024 as explained by UEFA:

Round of 16

• 29 June - 37: 1A vs 2C (Dortmund) 38: 2A vs 2B (Berlin)
• 30 June - 39: 1B vs 3A/D/E/F (Cologne) 40: 1C vs 3D/E/F (Gelsenkirchen)
• 1 July - 41: 1F vs 3A/B/C (Frankfurt) 42: 2D vs 2E (Düsseldorf)
• 2 July- 43: 1E vs 3A/B/C/D (Munich) 44: 1D vs 2F (Leipzig)

Quarter-final

• 5 July - 45: W39 vs W37 (Stuttgart) 46: W41 vs W42 (Hamburg)
• 6 July: 47: W43 vs W44 (Berlin) 48: W40 vs W38 (Düsseldorf)

Semi-final

• 9 July - W45 vs W46 (Munich)
• 10 July - W47 vs W48 (Dortmund)

When is the Euro 2024 final?

Sunday 14 July is the day to keep in your diary for the highly anticipated Euro 2024 final. The 17th final in the competition’s history will be staged in the German capital city Berlin at the Olympiastadion. The venue, which was originally built for the 1936 Olympics in Germany, holds a capacity of 74,475 and is the largest stadium in the country.

Since 1963 it has been the home of first division side Hertha Berlin while it has played host to a number of major events including three matches at the 1974 World Cup, six matches at the 2006 World Cup , the 2011 Women’s World Cup and the 2015 Champions League final.

Reigning European champions Italy will have fond memories of this stadium as they famously won the 2006 World Cup title there, in a game which also saw Zinedine Zidane receive a red card for his infamous headbutt on Marco Materazzi.