UEFA launch Euro 2020 logo, but without a host nation this is still the tournament without identity
* UEFA have unveiled the branding for the 2020 European Championships
* The tournament does not have a single host, rather 13 host cities
* Host cities range from Dublin in the west to Baku, Azerbaijan in the east
* Wembley will host both semi-finals and the final of Euro 2020
UEFA have launched their logo for the next instalment of the European Championships, but there is still work to do before the 2020 tournament captures the imagination of the football public.
This is a tournament UEFA are aiming to 'take to the fans' as they send the event to 13 different cities across the continent to mark the 60th anniversary of the competition, first held in France in 1960.
But, rather than a single host country, where home fans have traditionally stamped their mark on a festival of football, the 2020 competition will see cities ranging from Dublin in the west to Baku, Azerbaijan, in the east, each stage four matches before London becomes the focal point for both semi-finals and the final.
UEFA launched their logo for the 2020 European Championships on Wednesday
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (left) and UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin pose at the launch
The new logo, launched at City Hall in London on Wednesday, includes the words 'Euro 2020' written in the same font as the 2016 tournament's version, with the same circle immediately above it including a largely similar cartoon version of the European Championships trophy.
Behind the trophy are six multi-coloured, cheering, fans sitting atop a green bridge, which UEFA describes as a 'universal symbol of connection' for the 13 cities.
Each of the host cities will have its own variation of the tournament's logo, all including an image of an 'iconic bridge', with London's version launched on Wednesday including Tower Bridge.
The remaining cities will launch their logos one by one at staged events over the coming weeks.
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THE 13 'HOST' CITIES
Amsterdam (Holland), Baku (Azerbaijan), Bilbao (Spain), Brussels (Belgium), Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dublin (Republic of Ireland), Glasgow (Scotland), London (England), Munich (Germany), Rome (Italy) and St Petersburg (Russia)
- Qualifying begins in September 2018
- The finals are scheduled for June and July, 2020
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The new logo is similar to the one used for this year's Euro 2016 tournament in France
London, as well as the other 12 host cities, each have their own personalised logos
Assuming they qualify for the tournament, countries hosting group stage matches will each be guaranteed two home games during the opening round, but will not be certain to compete on home soil during the knockout stages.
With participating teams and the group stage draw not set to be finalised until three months before the finals, there is the potential for teams and their fans to clock up thousands of miles of air travel to all-four corners of the continent, to simply compete in the tournament.
Prior to his appointment as UEFA president last week, Aleksander Ceferin admitted the changed tournament structure, which he has insisted is a one-off, was a risk in terms of costs and security, as well as the expense for fans to follow their teams.
But speaking at the launch event in London, the Slovenian lawyer insisted the new format was the perfect way to celebrate the anniversary and that England was the ideal place to hold the latter stages.
'I'm delighted to be in England, the country that gave football to the world,' Ceferin said.
'The tournament will be unique and memorable in a variety of ways.
'What better way could there be than to take the final tournament to all four corners of our continent?
'London is a wonderful, vibrant multicultural city and an intense hotbed of football.'
New England manager Sam Allardyce, whose contract with the national team expires in 2018, was present at the launch event in London, with FA chief executive Martin Glenn targeting at least a repeat of the run to the semi-finals achieved at Euro 96 - the last time England hosted a major tournament.
'You can never say you're going to win it because everybody else wants to win it too,' he said.
'But that is our ambition: to turn up to every tournament as a reasonable favourite and take it from there.'
Prior to Euro 2020 Allardyce and his team will be looking to qualify for and succeed at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, with qualifying for the continent-wide European Championships due to begin in September 2018.
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