No England in Europe March 18, 2008

What will a Europe be like without England? We have this summer’s Euro 2008 football tournament to find out. Indeed none of the ‘home’ countries will be there. I almost wasn’t there – today I got a call from the organisers reversing a ‘final’ decision of a few days ago refusing me accreditation for the tournoi. When originally they refused me, there was for a moment some relief : I could get on with my life in England… but this would also deny the tournament my photographic skills ( I have photographed every major international tournament since 1990). And this would also damage my commission for FourFourTwo – restricting me to roaming the streets and not the stadiums and matches. Restricting me even to just photographing British fans back home half-heartedly watching it from the comfort of their homes and bars. As it is I am going.

I have picked the matches – all without England – and it will resemble that last strange week in Germany 2 years ago when suddenly England were dumped out (beaten on penalties by Portugal) and I was relatively on my own wandering a huge big foreign country – my hoardes of fellow countrymen all packed up and gone. This is also a lesson in what the World will be like without our influence because apart from me photographing, and the BBC dutifully reporting, and some English fans out there because they are match-a-holics, and the thought of what it could have been like with the armies of English, the rest of Europe will play out the great show and command the distinguished (diminished) stage.

I’ll be at :
Switzerland v Czech Republic , Basel 7th June
Austria v Croatia, Vienna 8th June
Romania v France, Zurich 9th June
Spain v Russia, Innsbruck 10th June
Czech Republic v Portugal, Geneva 11th June
Croatia v Germany, Klagenfurt 12th June
Italy v Romania, Zurich 13th June
Sweden v Spain, Innsbruck 14th June
Austria v Germany, Vienna 16th June.

… then my job will have been done, and I will return to England and pitch myself into Cumbria in summertime and various Pop Music Festivals north south east and west. In the big push to finish 2 books due out later in the year.