With Euro 2020, Six Nations rugby, The Open and Tour de France all on the agenda, it promises to be a thrilling sporting year across the continent.
PDC World Darts Championship final, Six Nations, Champions League knockout stages
Is there any better tradition than New Year’s Day and the darts? Kick 2020 off at Ally Pally with the PDC World Darts Championship final in London.
Always a fun-filled affair packed with outrageous fancy dress, plenty of beer for fans and a sensational atmosphere at the Alexandra Palace, it’s one of British sport’s truly unique events.
February sees the Six Nations return as Grand Slam winners Wales seek to defend their title. They’ll face stiff competition from England and Ireland, while France, Italy and Scotland will hope to do themselves proud too.
Last year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan was a global hit and European rugby supporters are eager for more international action ASAP.
Fixtures for this year’s Six Nations take place over six weeks at Twickenham, Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, the Stade de France, Murrayfield and Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.
February also sees the UEFA Champions League return to our screens. This season’s knockout stages has thrown up some absolutely mouth-watering ties like Liverpool v Atletico, Man City v Real Madrid, Barcelona v Napoli, Dortmund v PSG and Chelsea v Bayern.
Euro 2020 play-offs, Cheltenham Festival, Carabao Cup final, Grand National, London Marathon
Euro 2020 will be the most watched and highest attended sporting event across the continent this summer.
Anticipation is building for one of the biggest football competitions in the world. The Euro play-offs take place in March, as 16 teams prepare to fight tooth and nail for the 4 final places at the tournament.
Ireland v Slovakia, Iceland v Romania and Norway v Serbia are just some of the highly-awaited ties on the agenda in the play-off semi-finals.
March also sees the 2020 Cheltenham Festival take place. Thousands of punters will suit up and make the trip across to Gloucestershire the weekend before St Patrick’s Day hoping their luck is in.
Fancy yourself a true horse racing expert? See the world's greatest Steeplechase at Aintree a few weeks later on April 6th with the Grand National.
Wembley Stadium will host the Carabao Cup final on March 1st, while the English capital will also stage the London Marathon eight weeks later on April 26th too. Something for everyone!
Tour de France, Champions League final, Heineken Cup, Monaco GP, French Open, Euro 2020
There is a ridiculous amount of awesome live sport taking place across the months of May and June. Talk about the perfect way to kick off the summer!
May is the month of champions. There’s the men’s and women’s UEFA Champions League finals (being held in Istanbul and Vienna), the FA Cup final at Wembley and the Europa League final being staged in Gdansk.
If you’re more of a rugby buff, there’s plenty available a month later. The Pro14 final (held in Cardiff) and the Premiership Rugby final (held at Twickenham) will both take place on June 20th. The Heineken Cup decider takes place on May 23rd in Marseille.
The options are endless in June and there’s a major event for every type of sports nut. Fancy some Formula One instead? Hit up the Monaco Grand Prix on May 24th.
More of a tennis fan? Head to the French Open (which runs from May 24th to June 7th) and catch a glimpse of Nadal, Djokovic, Halep and Serena Williams as they put on a clay display at Roland-Garros.
Cycling more your scene? The 2020 Tour de France gets underway in Nice on June 27th, where Colombian star Egan Bernal is hoping to defend his title across 23 gruelling days. All roads lead to Paris!
Euro 2020 is set to be the biggest sporting event in Europe this year. For the very first time it will take place across 12 cities in 12 different countries:
The last European Championships in France — where Portugal were victorious against the hosts — was attended by 2.4 million spectators and viewed by over 2 billion people across the globe.
With this year’s tournament held across so many different countries, it will have a new and exciting feel to it, as fans jet all across the continent proudly wearing their country’s colours. A festival of football.
Wimbledon finals, The Open, British Grand Prix, Premier League, Vuelta a España
The action keeps coming as we hit the peak summer months and there’s a distinctively British feel to proceedings across football, tennis, F1 and golf.
July sees Wimbledon reach its climax, with the men’s and women’s finals taking place on July 11th and 12th.
The British Grand Prix is being staged at Silverstone between July 17th and 19th, where the unstoppable Lewis Hamilton will hope to clinch a seventh consecutive crown.
Irishman Shane Lowry won The Open in sensational fashion in 2019. The competition, staged in Britain each year, has a purse of almost €10 million and will be held at Royal St George's Golf Course between July 16th and July 19th.
Premier League action returns at the beginning of August, as does domestic football across the Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1. With the sun still shining, it’s the perfect time to book a cheeky European weekend away to catch a game with friends.
Finally, August will see the 2020 Vuelta a España kick into gear. For just the fourth time in the cycling competition’s history it will begin outside of Spain. This time the Dutch city of Utrecht will host the opening stage.
Pro14 returns, Italian Grand Prix, Champions League group stages
With European domestic football back into its groove, the UEFA Champions League returns for the 2020/21 campaign in October.
Group stage games kick off just before Halloweeen and there’s truly no experience quite like a European game under lights with that famous anthem booming all around.
Whether it’s Munich, Liverpool, Madrid or Paris, nothing beats the noise and atmosphere during a special Champions League night on the continent. After a well-deserved summer off, Pro14 rugby also comes back onto the agenda in October.
Meanwhile, September also sees of one of the biggest yearly sporting events grip Italy — the annual Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where Autodromo Nazionale is the fastest Formula One race track in the world.
Getting to see drivers like Hamilton, Verstappen, Ricciardo and Vettel up close and personal is a dream come true for any F1 fanatic.
Heineken Champions Cup returns, Bundesliga, PDC World Darts Championship
Domestic action continues in the Pro14 and the Premier League, but rugby fans can get even more excited because November marks the long-awaited return of the Heineken Cup.
The days might be getting shorter and the nights darker, but European rugby’s premier competition will act as a comfort in an otherwise quiet stretch on the sporting calendar.
As is tradition, the PDC World Darts Championship comes back onto our screens in mid-December. The glitz and glam of the Ally Pally fanfare runs straight through to New Years.
With German football taking a month long break during the annual Winterpause (Winter break), December is also your last opportunity to head off for that exciting Bundesliga weekend you’ve been planning with your mates.
Heading on a sports break abroad in 2020? Make sure to tag us in your photos using the hashtag #ryanairstories – you might be featured on Ryanair’s Instagram feed!
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