Robbie Brady has done the business and Dublin County Council have been left with no choice but to erect a EURO 2016 Dublin Fanzone. Not everyone has been lucky enough to be in France for what has already been an epic journey, with some of the best videos known to man emerging in the past two weeks. At long last, a much overdue EURO 2016 Fanzone is set to be erected in Smithfield for our clash with France on Sunday.
Delighted to be get #FanZone opened in Smithfield for Sunday crucial match #IRLFRA #COYBIG #IRL
— Frances Fitzgerald (@FitzgeraldFrncs) June 23, 2016
With that boxed off, how many people can you expect to be there? Well there are a few factors.
Online interest in the EURO 2016 Dublin Fanzone
Google Trends is a great site which gives you insight into what people are searches for online. Today has seen one thing dominate in Ireland: the construction of a EURO 2016 Fanzone.
Okay, we know we’re being biased to Dublin here and we do apologise, but that is some spike in interest. Such interest in the term “fanzone” or “fan zone” hasn’t been seen since, no prizes for guessing, June 2012. There is much more interest in the team watching our last sixteen game against France than there was for us facing Croatia, Spain and Italy in the 2012 European Championships.
Outside of France, there are few places showing interest in contructing their own fanzone quite like the Irish, include our Northern friends. Below shows areas with a large quantity of tweets using the term “fanzone”.
The GAA matches
The GAA have already pushed back the throw-ins of Kildare vs Westmeath and Dublin vs Meath to accommodate those wishing to view the Ireland v Frace clash. In a historic move, the GAA have also decided to show the second-half of the game in Croke Park. This will likely reduce the number of people heading towards the EURO 2016 Fanzone in Smithfield, but not by much.
The weather
Smithfield has no roof. Ireland in general has no roof. According to MET Éireann, we can expect some light showers on Sunday but nothing of biblical proportions. Temperatures of about 13°C will be accompanied by very gentle breezes of between 7 to 11 knots. Nothing a half decent hoodie won’t put manners on. We’re looking good again.
The bag of cans
If you’re looking for to have a bag of cans for the Boys in Green, you’re out of luck. As the game is an early kick off (2PM) it’s very likely beer will be banned in the Dublin Fanzone. Like Paddy’s Day, this will be viewed as a family and group event, with Dublin County Council most likely opting for ease of security and making this a non-alcohol event. There will be no shortage of pubs available to view, with McGowans of Phibsboro currently getting my stamp of approval.
The verdict on how many will be in the EURO 2016 Fanzone in Smithfield
It’s very hard to predict how many will be there, but it’s guaranteed to deliver an electric atmosphere and an outlet for the poor souls who couldn’t make France to practice all these songs we’ve been seeing on Facebook. If we were to go out on a limb and make a prediction on attendance numbers, we’d have to follow suit with the fans behind this flag …
Top flag so far #EURO2016 Ireland Father Ted flag pic.twitter.com/s7CtcDcfPZ
— professorvanessa (@professorvaness) June 18, 2016
