John Swinney: Deputy First Minister confident that Glasgow will host Euro 2020 fan zone

Deputy First Minister John Swinney is “confident” a 6,000 capacity Euro 2020 fan zone will open in Glasgow in two weeks, despite the city currently being subject to the strictest coronavirus restrictions across Scotland.

Glasgow is the only area in Scotland under Level 3 of the Scottish Government’s five-tier coronavirus restrictions, meaning residents cannot meet others indoors at home, travel out of the city or drink alcohol indoors in pubs and restaurants.

Cases ‘uncomfortably high’ in Glasgow

First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said on Friday that Covid-19 case numbers in Glasgow remain “uncomfortably” high, driven by an outbreak of the Indian variant of the virus mainly concentrated in the city’s southside.

She said a decision would be made by Wednesday at the latest on whether the city can move to Level 2 on Saturday.

The Scottish Government has approved plans for up to 6,000 people per day to attend an outdoor fan zone in Glasgow Green over the 31 days of the Uefa Euro 2020 tournament beginning on June 11.

The approval is “subject to the state of the pandemic nearer the time” but Mr Swinney believes it will go ahead.

‘Very regulated environments’

He told BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show that evidence demonstrates measures taken to suppress the outbreak, including drop-in vaccination centres and door-to-door testing, as well as remaining at a higher restriction level, are “successful”.

He added: “The fan zone as you talk about, they are going to be very regulated environments so there will be significant constraints upon who can get in and what testing has got to be undertaken to enable that to be sustained.

“So combining that with what we do in individual localities to make sure people are taking all the necessary steps to supress the virus, I’m confident that we can achieve that.

“We can only do that if we follow the sustained approach we have taken to make sure that we keep the virus under control.”