The Basque city of Bilbao is preparing for an invasion of English fans ahead of the Europa League final next Wednesday.
The showpiece event will take place between Premier League sides Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Athletic Club dreamed of playing the final in their home city but the Red Devils quashed those hopes with a 7-1 aggregate victory in the semi-finals.
Spurs reached the final by easing to a 5-1 aggregate victory over Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt.
Spanish newspaper El Correo report that there will be a record-breaking influx of British visitors in the city owing to the final.
It states that “the Europa League will attract 80,000 English people and skyrocket the price of rooms in the city.”
Athletic Club’s stadium San Mames has a capacity of 53,289 but a huge number of these seats won’t go to United or Spurs fans.
The Manchester Evening News reports that “just 29,000 tickets will go to supporters of United and Tottenham and the remaining tickets will be allocated elsewhere by UEFA.”
Therefore, according to El Correo, “it is estimated that more than half of the British fans will land in the Biscayan capital on Tuesday 20 without a ticket” as they look to “gamble” and negotiate with “sponsors, federations and specialised travel agencies”.
Hctor Snchez, manager of the Association of Hoteliers of Bizkaia (AHB), has claimed that the city is preparing for the most hectic day in its history in regard to foreign visitors.
The city hosted the beginning of the Tour de France in 2023 and the MTV awards ceremony in 2018 but neither event attracted the sheer volume of fans that the final is expected to bring in.
What’s more, “the magnitude of this event has triggered a ‘tsunami’ in the local hotel industry as well. As of today, all establishments have sold out rooms for the 20th and 21st.”
Such has been the scramble for accommodation, many fans have looked for hotel rooms in the neighbouring cities of Vitoria, San Sebastin, Santander and even Biarritz in France.
Featured image Clive Brunskill via Getty Images
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Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
