How much do UK bank holidays cost? Calls grow for celebration after Lionesses' Euros win
The government is facing calls to promise an extra bank holiday to commemorate the Lionesses defending their Euros title after their victory over Spain on Sunday.
During the tense final in Basel, Chloe Kelly managed to bring it home for England for the second time in a row after she scored the trophy-winning penalty.
The Football Association and the government have announced an open-top parade down The Mall in central London on Tuesday, 29 July, to mark the occasion.
But many want to see the government go further and give the nation an extra day off to celebrate.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said an additional day off would be a great way of honouring the "stunning achievement". In a post on X, he said: "Back-to-back champions! The Lionesses have done it again and made us proud. How about it, Keir Starmer? Time for that bank holiday?"
Sir Keir Starmer also called for a bank holiday when England were the runners-up in the 2023 women's World Cup, when he was leader of the opposition.
Will there be a bank holiday?
Although there's been no official work on it yet, it is unlikely.
When speaking to BBC Breakfast on Monday, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said there should be a "celebration."
But he added: "I can't, I'm afraid, promise a bank holiday."
Several news organisations, including the Telegraph, have also reported that Downing Street has said there will not be one.
There was no bank holiday following their victory in the 2022 tournament, nor was there one when the men's team won the 1966 World Cup.
How much does a bank holiday cost?
In 2022, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published an assessment on how much the additional bank holiday to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee in June 2022 cost the UK economy.
The study factored in the loss of economic output, weighed against the increased activity in the hospitality and tourism sector.
The assessment also considered any 'bouncing back' that may have happened due to increased productivity later in the week, as businesses tried to catch up with what they had lost.
Overall, they said the extra bank holiday cost the British economy £2.4bn in terms of lost GDP.
The UK's annual GDP in recent years has been over £2.5 trillion, so an extra bank holiday costs the economy less than 0.01% per year.
Considering the Platinum Jubilee was also a celebration, it would likely cost a similar amount for a bank holiday celebrating a major sporting win.
Although the extra bank holiday for the Jubilee was announced months in advance, giving businesses much more time to prepare and it would be unlikely that the government would promise a day off with just a few days' notice.
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