Posted on 24th May 2016
Ahead of the European Championship next month, FSA Cymru’s Paul Corkrey has kindly answered some common questions that crop up from Wales fans looking to follow the team to Baku and through the remainder of the tournament.
England vs Wales: match day arrangements in Lens
This is a story from the FSF archive – the FSF and SD merged to become the FSA in 2019.
England take on Wales at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens on Thursday 16th June and the French authorities have put special measures in place to manage the town on matchday.
As with every England away fixture the FSF Free Lions team will be running a fans’ embassy service on matchday offer advice and support to travelling fans.
Make sure you’re following us on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with their work and find out where they are. The FSF Cymru team will also be on the ground to assist Wales fans.
The French authorities have said the following:
- Fan zone: The Fan Zone in Lens has a capacity of 10,000 people which reflects the small size of the city. While the larger Fan Zone in Lille can hold up to 25,000 people and will be easier to access. Supporters without tickets for the game in Lens are encouraged match in the Fan Zone in Lille.
- Trains: Supporters travelling to Lens by train from Lille are advised to purchase return tickets in advance. Tickets can be booked online via the SNCF site: uk.voyages-sncf.com
- Park & ride: Those travelling to Lens by car are advised to use the park and ride areas around Lens on matchday. These will be signposted on all main roads. Free shuttle buses will be available from 11am on Match Day to transport fans from the car parks to the city centre.
- Coaches: Coach parking areas in Lens are available for use by supporters travelling from the UK. Supporters wishing to use these areas must register online in advance via the reservation service run by the tournament organiser Euro 2016 SAS. Further advice on this reservation service can be obtained directly from the FAs.
- No drinking on the streets: The sale, transport and consumption of alcoholic drinks will be banned in the car parks, shuttle buses, coach parks and in all public areas in Lens city centre. The consumption of alcohol will only be permitted in bars (either inside or on the Terrasse) and inside the Fan Zone. This ban will run from 6am on 16th June until 6am on 17th June. Anyone failing to respect this ban will be fined and all alcoholic drinks will be seized.
- Pyro: the sale, transport and use of pyrotechnics (fireworks, smoke canisters etc) will be banned within the same perimeter and during the same period.
- Luggage: No large bags will be allowed into the Fan Zone. Only bags under 10 litres in size will be allowed in (handbags, small rucksacks). Lockers will be available for the storage of any bags above the 10 litre limit.
If you’re travelling to France the tournament, there’s still time to order or download our Fans’ Guide to France – which contains useful information on travelling around France and has in-depth guides to all the host cities.
Thanks to Guillame Baviere for the image used in this article. Reproduced here under Creative Commons license.
