‘Quite a nightmare’: UK media face tricky few weeks juggling football and politics | General election 2024
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When Euro 2024 kicks off next week, it will be the first time an international men’s football tournament has clashed with a UK general election since 1970.
Then England’s early exit from the World Cup was blamed on a surprise defeat by Labour. This year, political parties and the media are trying to figure out how wall-to-wall football will affect overall election coverage – and whether voters will turn away from politics.
Jonathan Munro, Deputy Chief Executive of BBC News, said the collision was “quite a nightmare” and the broadcaster was working at “maximum strain” in terms of its physical capacity to cover events. “We haven’t had to stop doing anything because of kit availability. But we could do without any other major news,” he said.
Munro added that Euro 2024 had severely limited the leaders’ potential televised debate dates, even with a gap in the BBC’s schedule. “There are nights when England and Scotland are on ITV, so you wouldn’t want to put one of our main election programs on,” he said.
Likewise, Munroe said the corporation can’t risk scheduling a debate after a football game that could be overshot: “You get into parts of the tournament where overtime can be a factor.”
There are also the unintended side effects of football colliding with general election campaigning. If a political story tops the news bulletin after an England or Scotland match, it is likely to reach millions more voters.
Many of these additional viewers may be happy, upset or drunk – and in no mood to listen to a Keir Starmer or Rishi Sunak update.
Coverage of Euro 2024 has already been complicated by the clash with Wimbledon, which enjoys fortnightly wall-to-wall tennis coverage on the BBC. The broadcaster’s resources are already stretched by commitments to cover this month’s Glastonbury festival and the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Claire Bolding, who is the presenter of the BBC’s Wimbledon programme, was due to appear on Channel 4’s election night programme. Louisa Compton, the broadcaster’s head of news and current affairs, said she had stepped down because “even superwoman Claire Balding can’t be in two places at once”.
ITV has already had to move an England women’s international to ITV4 to avoid clashing with the first leaders’ debate.
Politicians are also trying to figure out how to mix politics and football without appearing opportunistic, while avoiding the cliché of a posed photo of a party leader settling in to watch football.
Starmer is expected to lean on his love for Arsenal, repeatedly stressing he is a genuine fan watching “from the stands” and not in a corporate box.
Sunak is a fan of Southampton FC and has been known to speak at length to Saints-supporting political journalists about the team’s performance. Yet he chose to skip the Championship play-off win at Wembley, avoiding the risk of the stadium chanting abuse at him.
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When asked by the Sun about England’s potential performance, he tried to turn it into an embarrassing attack on Labour. “When it comes to football, I tell the country that it should not only worry about the Danes, Slovenians and Serbs,” he said. “They should be worried about Captain Flip Flop and his band of socialists.”
Both will be wary of a repeat of 1970, when then Labor Prime Minister Harold Wilson hoped to secure a third successive election victory.
Before announcing the vote, Wilson had discussed the potential for football-induced change in national mood with his advisers. Their fears came to life when England unexpectedly took a 2-0 lead against West Germany just four days before the polls opened.
Philip Cowley, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said many in the Wilson government sincerely blamed Britain’s exit for their election defeat. “The problem with that view is that there are many other things that could cause a late swing against Labour. And there’s pretty good evidence that the polls just came out,” he said.
Cowley added that it’s important to “never overstate how obsessed people are with the election.” Instead, Cowley suggested the political impact in 2024 would be limited to keeping party campaigners at home when the home nations play – which would probably mean “three nights where you can’t go campaigning in Scotland, maybe four in England”.
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