The streets of London are set to come alive on Tuesday as the England women’s football team mark their historic Euro 2025 triumph with a celebratory open-top bus parade through the heart of the capital.
Starting at 12:10 BST, the Lionesses will travel along The Mall before arriving at the Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace, where a public ceremony will be held. The event is free for fans to attend and will also be broadcast live on the BBC, ITV and Sky.
This comes just days after England’s dramatic victory over Spain in Basel, where they secured the European Championship title for the second tournament in a row. The final ended in a tense 3-1 penalty shootout, with goalkeeper Hannah Hampton making two crucial saves before Chloe Kelly calmly slotted home the winner, sealing England’s first ever major tournament win on foreign soil.
On Monday, jubilant scenes greeted the team as they landed back in the UK. Hundreds of supporters gathered at Southend Airport, waving flags and cheering as the players stepped off the plane, medals around their necks. Later that day, the squad attended a reception at Downing Street, hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
“The Lionesses have brought it home again,” said Rayner at the No 10 reception. “And what a fantastic feeling that is. Champions of Europe again.”
England manager Sarina Wiegman addressed the room with a smile, joking about the change of scenery: “It’s a bit different from standing next to the pitch,” she said, before thanking the fans for their unwavering support.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who was away in Scotland meeting with US President Donald Trump at the time, joined the celebrations briefly via video call. He congratulated the team and praised their achievement as a defining moment for women’s sport in the UK.
The celebrations on Tuesday will be hosted by former England international Alex Scott, and are expected to draw large crowds eager to salute the team’s success. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called it a chance for the nation to “cheer these heroes home” after a tournament that, once again, united fans across the country.
The final was watched live by over 16 million viewers on TV, making it the most-watched broadcast of the year so far, and has reignited conversations about the legacy of women’s football in Britain.
In response to the team’s victory, the government announced plans to double pitch time allocated to women’s and girls’ teams at publicly funded sports facilities. The move is part of a wider £900 million investment in grassroots and elite-level sport, including £400 million earmarked for upgrading and building new facilities over the next four years.
A new taskforce is also being launched to explore how progress in women’s football can be replicated across other sports. Olympic gold medallist Dame Katherine Grainger, who chairs the British Olympic Association, highlighted the long-term importance of supporting women athletes beyond headline moments.
For now, though, the spotlight is firmly on the Lionesses, and Tuesday’s parade promises to be a celebration worthy of a truly remarkable team.
