title: Russell Brand

text: After appearing as William Carr in the Diablo Cody film "Paradise" (2013), Brand went on hiatus from acting. His return role was as Creek in the DreamWorks animated film "Trolls" (2016), followed by his portrayal of God in the comedy "Army of One" (2016) with Nicolas Cage. In 2018 and 2019, he portrayed Sports X Network founder Lance Klians in a recurring arc In the last two seasons of the HBO series "Ballers." Brand appeared as Tristan Trent in the 2020 fantasy film "Four Kids and It", and in 2022 played Linus Windlesham in Kenneth Branagh's remake of "Death on the Nile".


title: Russell Brand

text: Other projects Brand has been tied to include a remake of "Drop Dead Fred", an Adam Sandler-produced film about a con-man posing as a priest tentatively entitled "Bad Father", co-written by Brand and Matt Morgan; and a film adaptation of the children's television programme "Rentaghost" a project that was picked up by Fox Studios in 2011 with Ben Stiller attached.


title: Russell Brand

text: As of October 2008, Brand's own production company is called Vanity Projects. The company's most recent production, "Russell Brand Doing Life", was released in 2009.


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand also established his own production company in 2011 with friend Nik Linnen. Called 'Branded Films', the company operates from the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California, United States. The company's primary focus is to develop films that Brand stars in.


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand's radio career began in early 2002, when he hosted a Sunday afternoon show with Matt Morgan on London's Indie Rock station Xfm. Brand was fired from the job after reading pornographic material live on-air. In 2005, Brand co-hosted three one-off shows on BBC Radio 6 Music with Karl Pilkington. Brand then co-hosted "The Russell Brand Show" beginning in on BBC Radio 6 Music. In November 2006, the show transferred to BBC Radio 2 and aired on Saturdays from 9–11 pm. The show regularly drew about 400,000 listeners. In an episode of the show broadcast on 18 October 2008, Brand and fellow Radio 2 DJ Jonathan Ross made a series of phone calls to actor Andrew Sachs in which Brand alleged on air that he had had sex with Sachs' granddaughter. Sunday tabloid "The Mail on Sunday" broke the story and regarded the phone calls as obscene. Both presenters were later suspended by the BBC because of the incident, and Brand resigned from his show. The BBC was later fined £150,000 by Ofcom, Britain's broadcast regulator, for airing the calls.


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand returned to radio when he and Noel Gallagher hosted a one-off football talk show on 19 April 2009 for Talksport. Brand returned to Talksport on 9 October 2010, with a Saturday night show that lasted 20 weeks. The show featured clips and back-stage recordings from his "Booky Wook 2" promotional tour. Brand was joined by a host of guests, including Noel Gallagher and Jonathan Ross.


title: Russell Brand

text: On 25 February 2015, Brand launched a twice-weekly podcast called "The Russell Brand Podcast" through audioBoom. The podcast reunited Brand with his radio presenting team of Matt Morgan and poet Mr Gee. The podcast ended after 24 episodes. In 2017, Brand launched a new podcast called "Under the Skin with Russell Brand" in which he interviews guests from areas such as academia, popular culture and the arts.


title: Russell Brand

text: Beginning 2012, Brand hosted "Brand X with Russell Brand", a late-night talk show on FX that received lukewarm reviews and middling ratings. The show was cancelled in 2013 after running for two seasons.


title: Russell Brand

text: From 2006 until 2009, Brand wrote a column for "The Guardian" sports section that focused on West Ham United and the England national football team. A collection of the columns from 2006 and 2007 was released in 2007 in his book "Irons in the Fire".


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand's first autobiography, "My Booky Wook", was released on 15 November 2007 and received favourable reviews. Andrew Anthony from "The Observer" commented that "Russell Brand's gleeful tale of drugs and debauchery in "My Booky Wook" puts most other celebrity memoirs to shame".


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand signed a £1.8 million two-book deal with HarperCollins in June 2008. The first book, "Articles of Faith", examined Brand's philosophy and consisted of a collection of his columns from "The Guardian" that first appeared there in 2007 and 2008. The book was published on 16 October 2008, and also includes Brand interviewing Noel Gallagher, James Corden, and David Baddiel about football. The second book for HarperCollins, "", was Brand's second autobiography and was released on 30 September 2010.


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand has written articles for "The Guardian" that offer his perspectives on current events and pop culture, including the deaths of Amy Winehouse and Robin Williams. Following the 2011 London riots, Brand wrote a column in which he criticised the government's response to the riots in Summer 2011 as a failure to address the root causes.


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand made his children's book debut in November 2014 with "Russell Brand's Trickster Tales: The Pied Piper of Hamelin". It is the first instalment of an intended series, featuring illustrations by Chris Riddell. In "The Guardian", reviewer Lucy Mangan noted: "The on-Brand need to be noticed is there on every page, his unwillingness to get out of the way of the story tripping the reader up at every turn" and adding that Chris Riddell's illustrations "give the book a beauty it does not deserve and a coherence the text does not deliver". Nicholas Tucker, in "The Independent", was even less impressed, noting the book's "wearingly offensive" language, and writing:


title: Russell Brand

text: Were it not for his celebrity, this book in manuscript would surely have been returned to its author by any publisher along perhaps with some kindly advice for seeking out an anger-management course. But Brand’s take on The Pied Piper of Hamelin is the first of a series of riffs on traditional fairy and folk tales. If they are all as bad as this one, British children’s books will have hit a new low.


title: Russell Brand

text: His book "Revolution", in which Brand develops his earlier ideas, was published by Random House in October 2014 and received much publicity. Nick Cohen of "The Observer" called Brand's writing "atrocious: long-winded, confused and smug; filled with references to books Brand has half read and thinkers he has half understood." On the other hand, Steve Richards in "The Independent" commented: "Brand writes and speaks with verve, words flowing effortlessly and musically. The contrast with the tame wooden prose of elected politicians is marked."


title: Russell Brand

text: In September 2017, Macmillan published Brand's book "Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions". His next book, "Mentors: How To Help and Be Helped", was published in January 2019. It deals with the people who have had a positive impact on his life and encourages us to look to others to become better individuals.


title: Russell Brand

text: In January 2009, Brand participated in a celebrity letter to "The Independent"—as a supporter of the Hoping Foundation—to condemn Israel's assault on Gaza, and the "cruel and massive loss of life of the citizens of Gaza". In February 2009, Brand and several other entertainers wrote to "The Times" in defence of leaders of the Baháʼí Faith, who were on trial in Iran at the time. In April 2009, he attended the 2009 G-20 London summit protests and spoke to the press.


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand was selected by the Dalai Lama to host the Buddhist leader's 2012 youth event in Manchester. The Dalai Lama's representatives explained that Brand was selected because he had proved "the power of spirituality to effect change in his own life", while Brand stated to the BBC after the event: "I said yes because he's the living incarnation of Buddha and I thought, if you're around the Dalai Lama, that can only be good for your spiritual quest through life. He's an amazing diplomat, an incredible activist, a wonderful human being and an inspiration to us all."


title: Russell Brand

text: In April 2012, Brand testified in front of a parliamentary committee about drug addiction, sharing his experiences and view that drugs should be decriminalised. He said, "I'm not a legal expert. I'm saying that, to a drug addict, the legal aspect is irrelevant. If you need to get drugs, you will. The criminal and legal status, I think, sends the wrong message. Being arrested isn't a lesson, it's just an administrative blip." Part of this testimony was included in a BBC Three documentary, "Russell Brand: From Addiction to Recovery", that aired in December 2012. Brand said he felt compelled to make the film after the 2011 death of close friend Amy Winehouse, and he also used the opportunity to question how British society "deals with addicts and addiction."


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand has appeared frequently as a campaigner for serious issues. In June 2013 he appeared in a video in support of Chelsea Manning.


title: Russell Brand

text: On 23 October 2013, Brand was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman for the BBC's "Newsnight" in which he disparaged the British political system as ineffectual and encouraged the British electorate not to vote. He was challenged about his call for "revolution" and whether someone who had never voted could edit a political magazine. When asked by Paxman what a revolution would look like, Brand replied:


title: Russell Brand

text: British commentator Joan Smith dismissed Brand's appearance on "Newsnight" as the "canny self-publicist" who indulges in "waffle about 'revolution'" as "one celebrity, I'm afraid, who's more idiot than savant." Former "Independent" editor Simon Kelner largely defended his appearance: "It sounded rather attractive, even if it wasn't exactly worked through. But Brand's rhetorical flourishes made up for the lack of detail".


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand guest-edited a special issue of the "New Statesman" that was published on 24 October 2013 and explored the theme of Revolution, and in which he explained his objection to the destruction of Earth through greed and exploitation, and called for a change in consciousness to accompany political and economic measures to achieve a more sustainable future. A few days later Nick Cohen in "The Guardian" commented about Brand: "He writes as if he is a precocious prepubescent rather than an adolescent: a child, born after the millennium, who can behave as if we never lived through the 20th century."


title: Russell Brand

text: In November that year Brand joined the Anonymous Million Mask March in London that protested against "cuts, corruption and an increase in state surveillance".


title: Russell Brand

text: In January 2014, Brand was invited by the Cambridge Union Society to participate in an interview, held in the Union's debating chamber with Leo Kirby, the Union's 2014 Speakers' Officer. The interview ran for more than an hour and was published on the Union's YouTube channel.


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand launched his YouTube series "The Trews: True News with Russell Brand" on 27 February 2014, in which he "analyses the news, truthfully, spontaneously and with great risk to his personal freedom." In addition to news analysis, he regularly has guests on the show, including economists, journalists and activists. By the end of the year, more than 200 episodes had been released on the channel. The show was halted for nearly a year as he decided to be away from social media to focus on his personal and professional growth.


title: Russell Brand

text: In June 2014, he took part in the People's Assembly Against Austerity, that attracted an estimated 50,000 people marching from the BBC office to Westminster. Brand addressed the crowd, saying, "The people of this building [the House of Commons] generally speaking do not represent us, they represent their friends in big business. It's time for us to take back our power. Power isn't there, it is here, within us. The revolution that's required isn't a revolution of radical ideas, but the implementation of ideas we already have."


title: Russell Brand

text: In September 2014, Brand lent his support to the Fire Brigades Union, giving a speech at the union's rally against cuts in London and asking the public to support the firefighters.


title: Russell Brand

text: In October 2014, at the time Brand's book "Revolution" was published, John Lydon (also known as "Johnny Rotten" of the Sex Pistols), in an interview with Polly Toynbee of "The Guardian", said that Brand's advocacy of non-voting is "the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard." In a November 2014 YouGov poll, involving a selection of celebrities, Brand was chosen as the one with the most negative influence on political debate (46%). The poll also found that 60% of poll participants disliked him and 28% liked him.


title: Russell Brand

text: Shortly afterward, Brand appeared on "Newsnight" again, but was interviewed by Evan Davis on this occasion. Asked about 9/11 conspiracy theories and whether the attacks were perpetuated by the American government, Brand commented: "[w]e have to remain open-minded to [that] kind of possibility", although this section of the interview ended with Brand insisting that he did not "want to talk about daft conspiracy theories." Hadley Freeman in "The Guardian" mocked the opinions he expressed in the interview: "I’m not entirely sure where he thinks he’s going to go with this revolution idea because [SPOILER!] revolution is not going to happen."


title: Russell Brand

text: BBC Three commissioned Brand to make a documentary on the global "War on Drugs", which aired on 26 November 2014. The film, titled "Russell Brand: End the Drugs War", shows him exploring the illicit drug policies of other countries in search of a compassionate approach to people who use illicit drugs. Brand said in the documentary, "People think compassion is 'wet liberalism'; it's not, it's pragmatic". Brand worked with the Matchlight Ltd production company, director Ross Wilson and executive producer Liz Hartford.


title: Russell Brand

text: On 2 December 2014, Brand joined East London residents to protest over the increase in rents at the New Era housing estate. During a protest for the New Era residents, "Channel 4 News" reporter Paraic O'Brien continually pushed Brand to answer questions about the value of his own property, which is rented. The line of questioning irritated Brand, who ended up calling the reporter a "snide"—the short clip went viral on YouTube.


title: Russell Brand

text: Later that month, on 11 December, Brand appeared on the BBC's "Question Time" programme which included the UK Independence Party's leader Nigel Farage as one of the other panellists. Brand called Farage "a pound shop Enoch Powell" on-air, and the two men continued to trade insults after the programme had ended.


title: Russell Brand

text: In January 2015, during the television show "Channel 4's Big Fat Anniversary Quiz", Brand insulted politician Ed Balls. Balls responded by calling Brand a "pound shop Ben Elton." In March, Brand announced he would use money from his "Revolution" book to open a café, the Trew Era Cafe on the New Era estate in the London Borough of Hackney, which would employ recovering drug addicts. The café opened on 26 March 2015 and in September the following year Brand donated it to the Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust. In March, readers of "Prospect" magazine voted Brand the fourth-most influential thinker in the world, behind Thomas Piketty, Yanis Varoufakis, and Naomi Klein.


title: Russell Brand

text: The film documentary "," which reflects on Brand's journey into political activism, premiered at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2015. Brand and director Michael Winterbottom worked together to produce a documentary, "The Emperor's New Clothes", that had its international premiere on 24 April 2015 at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film features archival footage with appearances by Brand in London and New York City, examining the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and global economic inequality. The documentary is produced by Brand's Revolution Films company and distributed by StudioCanal UK.


title: Russell Brand

text: On 29 April 2015, eight days ahead of 2015 UK general election, Brand published an interview with Labour leader Ed Miliband on an episode of "The Trews" as part of a "Trews Politics Week" series. Miliband claimed that he took part to win over people like Brand who do not vote, although his opponent David Cameron deemed the entire interview a "joke". The following day Brand released an interview with Green Party leader Natalie Bennett and Green MP Caroline Lucas, giving his support to Lucas in Brighton advising people there to vote Green, adding that "In most cases it don’t matter if you don’t vote Green". He also criticised an election "set up not to represent people's wishes".


title: Russell Brand

text: Following these interviews, three days before the election, Brand released the final episode of "The Trews Politics Week" entitled "Emergency: VOTE To Start Revolution" releasing additional material from his discussion with Ed Miliband and stating "I think we've got no choice but to take decisive action to end the danger of the Conservative party". He dropped his anti-voting position and "declared the importance of voting", backing Labour and telling his fans that "You gotta vote Labour", although he admitted "that he couldn't be sure of the reality of what a Labour government would mean". Brand was not registered to vote in the 2015 election.


title: Russell Brand

text: On 20 August 2015, Brand released episode 366 of "The Trews" titled "Final Episode Of The Trews – Goodbye, Good Luck", which he said would be the final episode of the series. The Trews returned on 12 October 2016.


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand endorsed Jeremy Corbyn in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election and during the 2017 general election, when he wrote in "The Huffington Post" that Corbyn "has the qualities I want in a strong and stable leader". Regarding the 2015 election he said: "You know I never actually said 'don't vote'? I said 'There's no point in voting when the main political parties are basically indistinguishable and the relationship between government, big business and factions of the media make it impossible for the democratic will of the people to be realised.'"


title: Russell Brand

text: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brand's YouTube channel underwent an increase in activity and change in political direction veering heavily in the direction of COVID denialism and conspiracy theories, which led to an increase in popularity and has amassed more than 5.64 million subscribers and 726 million views.


title: Russell Brand

text: Due to having one of his videos taken down in September 2022 due to YouTube's policy on medical misinformation, he moved his channel to Rumble where he has launched a new daily live show, "Stay Free with Russell Brand."


title: Russell Brand

text: On 16 September 2010, Brand was arrested on suspected battery charges after he allegedly attacked a paparazzo who blocked his and then-fiancée Katy Perry's way to catch a flight at Los Angeles International Airport. The paparazzo placed Brand under citizen's arrest until the police arrived and he was released from custody the next day after posting US$20,000 bail. On 15 March 2012, an arrest warrant was issued for Brand in New Orleans, U.S., because of allegations that he had thrown a photographer's mobile phone through a window. The paparazzo was taking pictures of Brand with an iPhone when Brand wrestled the device from his hands and tossed it at a law firm's window. The warrant cited "simple criminal damage to property", leading Brand, who offered to pay for the replacement of the window, to voluntarily appear at a police station. Brand was filming a movie in New Orleans at the time of the incident.


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand was ejected from the "GQ" Awards show on 3 September 2013 after receiving the "Oracle" award. In his acceptance speech, he mentioned sponsor Hugo Boss's former business making uniforms for the Gestapo. Brand said of the Nazis, "They did look fucking fantastic, let's face it" before he goose stepped across the stage in a comical imitation of the Nazi march. Brand was eventually ejected from the event after "GQ" editor Dylan Jones confronted Brand with his view that the speech was "very offensive"—Brand replied by saying that the Nazis' treatment of the Jewish people was "very offensive". Brand later wrote an article about the award night for "The Guardian":


title: Russell Brand

text: Now I'm aware that this ["GQ" award speech] was really no big deal ... It was a daft joke by a daft comic at a daft event. It makes me wonder, though, how the relationships and power dynamics I witnessed on this relatively inconsequential context are replicated on a more significant scale ... Ought we be concerned that our rights to protest are being continually eroded under the guise of enhancing our safety? ... When you take a breath and look away from the spectacle it's amazing how absurd it seems when you look back.


title: Russell Brand

text: In September 2021, Brand shared information on how to avoid COVID-19 safety measures for people attending his tour. In October 2021, YouTube began reviewing some of Brand's videos to see if they violated the site's COVID-19 vaccine policies. Columnist Charlotte Lytton accused Brand of pandering to the anti-vax movement as well as amplifying pro-Russian conspiracy theories with respect to the Russo-Ukrainian War. Elon Musk defended Brand from media criticism on Twitter, saying "With so many mainstream media companies saying @rustyrockets is crazy/dangerous, I watched some of his videos. Ironically, he seemed more balanced & insightful than those condemning him! The groupthink among major media companies is more troubling. There should be more dissent."


title: Russell Brand

text: In 2022, Brand discussed the World Health Organization's meetings on the pandemic treaty and said: "I'll tell you what’s up… Your democracy is fucking finished" and that future people would say we "lapsed a terrible technocratic, globalist agenda." Also in 2022, Brand released a video decrying the media for ignoring reporting on the Canada convoy protest. Brand also said in the video that "Truckers, who were previously regarded as heroes when they were delivering vital goods and working during the lockdown, are now villains as they protest vaccine mandates".


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder. He also suffered from bulimia, pornography addiction, and experienced a period of self-harming. Brand has described the concept of fame as "like ashes" in his mouth.


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand used to be a Buddhist; speaking to "The Guardian" in 2017 he said he believes in a higher power as described by Alcoholics Anonymous. Brand has shown interest in the Hare Krishna Movement and wrote in a 2007 "Guardian" column: "I say Hare Krishna as often as possible, sometimes even when I'm not being filmed". Additionally, during an interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in October 2010, Brand talked about his love of Transcendental Meditation (TM). This love of TM was reaffirmed in a 2013 "New Statesman" editorial he wrote: "Through Transcendental Meditation, twice daily I feel the bliss of the divine... I connect to a boundless consciousness that has no palpable relationship with my thoughts, fears or desires." He has also gravitated towards Christian spirituality and practice by daily reciting the Lord's Prayer and attempting to have Christ consciousness.


title: Russell Brand

text: Since 2016, Brand has been training in the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has earned a purple belt in the discipline. He credits the art with improving his life in several ways.


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand lives in Henley-on-Thames. He is a lifelong supporter of the West Ham United football club. As of 2019, he is a vegan.


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand first met American singer Katy Perry in mid-2009 when she filmed a cameo for his film "Get Him to the Greek," although the cameo was cut from the film. They began dating after meeting again at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards in September. The two became engaged on New Year's Eve 2009 during a holiday in India, and married there on 23 October 2010 in a Hindu ceremony, near the Ranthambhore tiger sanctuary in Rajasthan.


title: Russell Brand

text: In October 2011, Brand and Perry announced via Twitter that they had switched to a vegan diet after watching the documentary "Forks Over Knives" which explores ways that plant-based diets can reduce risks for cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions. On 30 December 2011, Brand filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, which was finalised in July 2012. Perry's July 2012 autobiographical documentary, "", revealed that conflicting career schedules and Perry not feeling ready to have children led to the end of their marriage. Perry later said in an interview that Brand did not like the idea of her "being the boss" of things, and that the last time she had heard from him was on 31 December 2011, when he text-messaged that he was divorcing her.


title: Russell Brand

text: Days after his divorce was finalised, Brand said in an interview with Howard Stern that he was extremely in love with Perry, but after marrying her realised "this isn't really working out ... I was really, really in love with her, but it was difficult to see each other ... it mostly didn't work for practical reasons." While Stern pressed for details, Brand declined, saying: "I don't want anything to hurt her. She's younger than me, she's a young woman and she's beautiful and she's sensitive and I care about her deeply." Brand, who married Perry without a prenuptial agreement, was eligible to claim half of the estimated $44 million she earned during their marriage, but declined.


title: Russell Brand

text: From 2013 to 2014, Brand was in a relationship with Jemima Goldsmith (f.k.a. Khan), an editor of the "New Statesman", and a daughter of financier James Goldsmith. In May 2014, Brand received libel damages from "The Sun" after the paper had printed a story in November 2013 alleging that he had been unfaithful to Khan. Brand said he would be donating the unspecified damages to the Hillsborough Justice Campaign. Brand and Khan ended their relationship in September 2014.


title: Russell Brand

text: In the October 2014 issue of "Vanity Fair", Brand said of the allegations of misogyny made against him: "I have lived a life and had a frame of cultural references that make that charge quite legitimate... But as a person who's trying to live a decent, spiritual life, misogyny is not part of my current palette of behaviors... In a way, redemption is a great part of my narrative. I'm talking about disavowing previous lives, previous beliefs, previous behaviours."


title: Russell Brand

text: Since 2015, Brand has been in a relationship with Scottish blogger and former restaurateur Laura Gallacher, whom he had dated on and off since 2007. Gallacher is the sister of television presenter Kirsty Gallacher. Their first daughter Mabel was born in November 2016. Brand married Gallacher in Henley-on-Thames on 26 August 2017. In July 2018, Brand and Gallacher had a second daughter named Peggy.


title: Russell Brand

text: The media published articles on Brand during his drug-using period, typically in relation to incidents, and his public profile has since been associated with this era. Drug-related issues led to Brand's arrest on twelve occasions. Brand was ejected from The Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh and following a subsequent show in the city in 2004, a reviewer stated that "you'd rather hug him than hit him", as he had embraced recovery by this point. Following the cessation of his use, Brand revealed through his stand-up performances that he introduced his drug dealer to Kylie Minogue during his time at MTV and masturbated a stranger in a public toilet for a television programme. In January 2014, Brand described his first experience with heroin as "blissful".


title: Russell Brand

text: Brand has abstained from drug use since 13 December 2002. He was a patron of the Focus 12 drug treatment programme and rehabilitation charity after his own use of the service; the charity closed in 2018. Brand's sobriety was instigated by his agent, John Noel, after Brand was apprehended using heroin in a bathroom during a Christmas party. Brand cites his practice of transcendental meditation as a significant factor in his recovery from drug dependence. Brand organised three fundraisers for Focus 12 in London, Dublin and Belfast in 2009, and has also acted as a "sponsor" for numerous people during the rehabilitation stage of their treatment process.


title: EBay

text: eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a notable success story of the dot-com bubble. eBay is a multibillion-dollar business with operations in about 32 countries, as of 2019. The company manages the eBay website, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a wide variety of goods and services worldwide. The website is free to use for buyers, but sellers are charged fees for listing items after a limited number of free listings, and an additional or separate fee when those items are sold.


title: EBay

text: In addition to eBay's original auction-style sales, the website has evolved and expanded to include: instant "Buy It Now" shopping; shopping by Universal Product Code, ISBN, or other kind of SKU number (via Half.com, which was shut down in 2017); and other services. eBay previously offered online money transfers as part of its services (via PayPal, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay from 2002 to 2015); online classified advertisements (via Kijiji, or eBay Classifieds Group); and online event ticket trading (via StubHub). On July 25, 2018, eBay announced a new partnership with PayPal's rivals Apple and Square in place of its longtime payment partner PayPal.


title: EBay

text: The AuctionWeb was founded in California on September 3, 1995, by French-born Iranian-American computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as part of a larger personal site. One of the first items sold on AuctionWeb was a broken laser pointer for $14.83. Astonished, Omidyar contacted the winning bidder to ask if he understood that the laser pointer was broken; the buyer explained: "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers." It soon became the first online auction site allowing person-to-person transactions, and its popularity boomed.


title: EBay

text: Reportedly, eBay was simply a hobby for Omidyar until his Internet service provider informed him he would need to upgrade to a business account due to his high website traffic. The monthly price increase from $30 to $250 prompted him to start charging eBay users, who continued to use the site. Chris Agarpao was eBay's first employee; he processed mailed check payments.


title: EBay

text: Jeffrey Skoll was hired as the first new president of the company in early 1996. In November 1996, the E-Commerce platform entered into its first third-party licensing deal, with a company called Electronic Travel Auction, to use SmartMarket Technology to sell plane tickets and other travel products. Growth was phenomenal: from auctions during all of 1996 to in January 1997 alone.


title: EBay

text: The company officially changed the name of its service from AuctionWeb to eBay in September 1997, after Echo Bay Technology Group, Omidyar's consulting firm. The domain name echobay.com was already taken by a gold mining company, so Omidyar shortened it to eBay.com. In 1997 the company received $6.7 million in funding from the venture capital firm Benchmark Capital.


title: EBay

text: The frequently repeated story that eBay was founded to help Omidyar's fiancée trade Pez candy dispensers was fabricated in 1997 by public relations manager Mary Lou Song to give the media a human-interest story more appealing than Omidyar's original vision of a "perfect market". The Pez dispenser myth generated enormous publicity and led to explosive early growth among toy collectors.


title: EBay

text: The leader in the toy category quickly became Beanie Babies manufactured by Ty, Inc., the most difficult toys to find in retail stores. As collectors internationally were trying to complete their collection of Beanie Babies, Ty set up the first business-to-consumer Web site, a secondary-market online trading post where people could trade their Beanie Babies. However, it was overwhelmed with unsortable listings, creating an urgent demand for a more efficient online trading system. Beanie Babies quickly became the dominant product on eBay, accounting for 10% of all listings in 1997, as collectors thronged eBay's user-friendly interface to search for specific Beanie Babies.


title: EBay

text: Meg Whitman was hired by the board as eBay president and CEO in March 1998. At the time, the company had 30 employees, half a million users and revenues of $4.7 million in the United States.


title: EBay

text: On September 21, 1998, eBay went public. In the risk factors section of the annual report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 1998, Omidyar notes eBay's dependence on the continued strength of the Beanie Babies market. After eBay went public, both Omidyar and Skoll became instant billionaires: eBay's target of $18 per share was all but ignored as the price went to $53.50 on the first day of trading.


title: EBay

text: As the company expanded product categories beyond collectibles into almost any saleable item, business grew quickly. In 2000, eBay had 12 million registered users and a cyberinventory of more than 4.5 million items on sale on any given day. In 2001, eBay had the largest userbase of any e-commerce site. In February 2002 the company purchased iBazar, a similar European auction web site founded in 1998, and then bought PayPal on October 3, 2002.


title: EBay

text: By early 2008 the company had expanded worldwide, counting hundreds of millions of registered users as well as employees and revenues of almost $7.7 billion. After nearly ten years at eBay, Whitman decided to enter politics. On January 23, 2008, the company announced that Whitman would step down on March 31, 2008, and John Donahoe was selected to become president and CEO. Whitman remained on the board of directors and continued to advise Donahoe through 2008. In late 2009 eBay completed the sale of Skype for $2.75 billion, but still owned 30% equity in the company.


title: EBay

text: In 2012, eBay was charged by the United States Department of Justice with entering into non-solicitation agreements with other technology companies involving their highly skilled employees.


title: EBay

text: On September 30, 2014, eBay announced it would spin off PayPal into a separate publicly traded company, a demand made nine months prior by activist hedge fund magnate Carl Icahn. The spinoff completed on July 18, 2015. eBay's then chief executive, John Donahoe, stepped down from that role. Flipkart and eBay entered into a strategic partnership in 2017 under which eBay Inc acquired a 5.44% stake in Flipkart in exchange for its eBay India business for $211 Mn and a $514 Mn cash investment. As part of the partnership, Flipkart decided to use the eBay platform for global outsourcing.


title: EBay

text: On January 31, 2018, eBay announced that they would replace PayPal as its primary payments provider with Netherlands-based start-up Adyen. The transition was set to be completed by 2021, but PayPal would remain an acceptable payment option on the site until further notice.


title: EBay

text: On September 21, 2018, it was reported that eBay would install a security fence around the perimeter of its San Jose headquarters in response to the YouTube headquarters shooting earlier that year.


title: EBay

text: On September 25, 2019, it was announced that Devin Wenig would be stepping down as eBay's CEO, and that Scott Schenkel, senior vice president and chief financial officer since 2015, had been appointed as the interim CEO.


title: EBay

text: On April 13, 2020, it was announced that Jamie Iannone would become the CEO on April 27. On June 15, 2020, eBay stated that that five employees were terminated in September after a law enforcement notification in August because of a possibly criminal case of harassment of journalists perpetrated by some of the terminated employees. Six former employees were charged with Aggressive Cyberstalking.


title: EBay

text: In September 2012, eBay introduced a new logo using a thinner variation of the Univers typeface, installed on the website on October 10, 2012. It replaced the thicker Univers logo that had been used since eBay's inception in 1995. An all red eBay logo with the same type set was also introduced to be used temporarily for various holidays.


title: EBay

text: eBay generates revenue by a complex system of fees for services, listing product features, and a "final value fee" for sales proceeds by sellers. As of 2019 the US-based eBay.com charges $0.35 as an insertion fee for a basic listing without any adornments. The final value fee is 10-12% of the total amount of the sale, which is the price of the item plus shipping charges. Reduced final value fees are available to business registered customers. Other eBay websites follow a similar fee structure, but with different cost charges.


title: EBay

text: Under US law before 2018, a state could not require sellers located outside the state to collect a sales tax, which made making purchases on eBay more attractive to US buyers. Sellers that operate as a business do follow state tax regulations on eBay transactions. Since 2018, changes to tax law in the United States force eBay (and other large marketplaces) to collect sales tax on any eBay purchase shipped to certain states.


title: EBay

text: The company's business strategy includes increasing international trade. eBay has already expanded to over two dozen countries, including China and India. Strategic international expansion has failed in Taiwan and Japan, where Yahoo! had a head start, and New Zealand, where Trade Me is the dominant online auction website. eBay also notably failed in China due to competition from local rival Taobao. eBay entered the Chinese market in 2002 and shut down its Chinese site in 2007. In India, eBay's operations came to a halt after it sold off its India operations to country's largest ecommerce company Flipkart, in the latter's $1.4Bn fundraise, where eBay was a participant.


title: EBay

text: In its Q1 2008 results, total payment volume via PayPal increased 17%, but of the eBay auction site it was up 61%.


title: EBay

text: For most listing categories, eBay sellers are permitted to offer a variety of payment systems such as Escrow.com, PayPal, Paymate, Propay, and Skrill. Propay and Skrill were banned effective September 27, 2015, citing low usage.


title: EBay

text: Escrow.com is eBay's approved escrow site. The transactions processed through Escrow.com largely are in relation to eBay Motors; however, they are not restricted to this type of listing.


title: EBay

text: eBay runs an affiliate program under the name eBay Partner Network. eBay affiliate marketers were originally paid a percentage of the eBay seller's transaction fees, with commissions ranging from 50% to 75% of the fees paid for an item purchased. In October 2009, eBay changed to an affiliate payout system that it calls Quality Click Pricing, in which affiliates are paid an amount determined by an undisclosed algorithm. The total earnings amount is then divided by the number of clicks the affiliate sent to eBay and is reported as Earnings Per Click, or EPC. In October 2013, ePN launched a new pricing model. The new model is more transparent and is based on category-level base commission rates with bonuses available for referring new and reactivated buyers.


title: EBay

text: On April 18, 2012, eBay reported a 29% Q1 revenue increase to $3.3 billion compared to their Q1 in 2011. Net income was reported to be at $570 million for the quarter.


title: EBay

text: For the fiscal year 2017, eBay reported losses of US$1.016 billion, with annual revenue of US$9.567 billion, an increase of 6.6% over the previous fiscal cycle. eBay's shares traded at over $35 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$27.2 billion in October 2018.


title: EBay

text: On May 8, 2008, eBay announced the opening of its newest building on the company's North Campus in San Jose, which is the first structure in the city to be built from the ground up to LEED Gold standards. The building, the first the company had built in its 13-year existence, uses an array of 3,248 solar panels, spanning , and providing 650 kilowatts of power to eBay's campus. The array can supply 15–18% of the company's total energy requirements, reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that would be produced to create that energy by other means. SolarCity, the company responsible for designing the array, estimates that the solar panels installed on eBay's campus will prevent 37 million pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the environment as a result of replaced power production over the next three decades. Creating an equivalent impact to remove the same amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere would require planting of trees.


title: EBay

text: The design of the building also incorporates other elements to reduce its impact on the environment. The building is equipped with a lighting system that detects natural ambient light sources and automatically dims artificial lighting to save 39% of the power usually required to light an office building. eBay's newest building also reduces demand on local water supplies by incorporating an eco-friendly irrigation system, and low-flow showerheads and faucets. Even during construction, more than 75% of the waste from construction was recycled. eBay also runs buses between San Francisco and the San Jose campus to reduce the number of commuting vehicles. In 2014, eBay and several other Oregon businesses signed the Oregon Business Climate Declaration to promote local job growth and slow carbon pollution.


title: EBay

text: On October 3, 2002, PayPal became a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay. Its corporate headquarters were sited in San Jose, California, United States at eBay's North First Street satellite office campus. On September 30, 2014, eBay Inc. announced the divestiture of PayPal as an independent company, which was completed on July 20, 2015.


title: EBay

text: In the summer of 2004, eBay acknowledged that it had acquired 25% of classified listings website Craigslist. Former Craigslist executive Phillip Knowlton was the seller, and he insisted that his former employer was aware of his plans to divest his holdings. Initially, eBay assured Craigslist that eBay would not ask Craigslist to change the way it did business.


title: EBay

text: In March 2005, eBay launched the classifieds service Kijiji. In April 2008, eBay sued Craigslist to "safeguard its four-year financial investment", claiming that in January 2008, Craigslist took actions that "unfairly diluted eBay's economic interest by more than 10%". Craigslist countersued in May 2008 "to remedy the substantial and ongoing harm to fair competition" that Craigslist claimed was constituted by eBay's actions as a Craigslist shareholder. In September 2010, Delaware Judge William Chandler ruled that the actions of Craigslist were unlawful and that the actions were taken by Craigslist founders Jim Buckmaster and Craig Newmark had "breached their fiduciary duty of loyalty", and restored eBay's stake in the company to 28.4% from a diluted level of 24.85%. However, the judge dismissed eBay's objection to a staggered board provision, citing that Craigslist has the right to protect its own trade secrets. eBay spokesman Michael Jacobson stated "We are very pleased that the court gave eBay what it sought from the lawsuit."


title: EBay

text: In October 2005, eBay Inc. acquired Skype Technologies, developer of the Skype VoIP and Instant messaging service, significantly expanding its customer base to more than 480 million registered users worldwide. eBay later sold a majority stake in Skype in November 2009, while retaining a minority investment. This eventually led to the sale of the entire Skype business to Microsoft for $8.5 billion in May 2011.


title: EBay

text: StubHub's acquisition by eBay was announced in January 2007 for a reported $310 million. According to CNN Money, 2007 was a very successful year for the company, handling five million individual transactions, more than in the previous six years combined of its history. Staffing at StubHub had increased to 350 workers by the time of the sale. Eight months after the acquisition, StubHub reached an exclusive agreement with Major League Baseball (MLB). They get a piece of the 25% in commissions StubHub earns on either end of a sale. Ticketmaster filed a lawsuit against StubHub and eBay in 2007, alleging "intentional interference" with Ticketmaster's contractual rights. In November 2019, eBay agreed to sell StubHub to Viagogo for $4.05 billion in cash; the sale was completed in February 2020.


title: EBay

text: In April 2018, eBay acquired the Japanese division of Qoo10, a market place driven by Giosis and having the 4th GMV in Japan, for a reported $573 million. With the close of the transaction, eBay also has relinquished its investment in Giosis’ non-Japanese businesses. This acquisition expands eBay's footprint in Japan, one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world. eBay made an initial investment in Giosis Pte. Ltd. in 2010. Since then, Giosis has established dynamic marketplace businesses across Asia. eBay's Japan business, including Giosis’ Japan business, will report into Jooman Park, senior vice president of eBay's Asia Pacific region.


title: EBay

text: eBay is a publicly visible market which has attracted interest from economists, who have used it to analyze aspects of buying and selling behavior, auction formats, etc., comparing them with previous theoretical and empirical findings.


title: EBay

text: Computer information systems researchers have also shown interest in eBay. Michael Goul, Chairman of the Computer Information Systems department of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, published an academic case based on eBay's big data management and use in which he discusses how eBay is a data-driven company that processes 50 petabytes of data a day.


title: EBay

text: eBay uses a system that allows different departments in the company to check out data from their data mart into sandboxes for analysis. According to Goul, eBay has already experienced significant business successes through its data analytics. eBay employs 5,000 data analysts to enable data-driven decision making.


title: EBay

text: In 2006, the accounting software company Intuit launched a web-based donation tracking service called ItsDeductible. The service uses data from eBay to help users assign a market value to the items they donate.


title: EBay

text: In July 2017, eBay released an image search capability allowing users to find listings on the site that match an item depicted in a photo, using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.


title: EBay

text: Millions of collectibles, decor, appliances, computers, furnishings, equipment, domain names, vehicles, and other miscellaneous items are listed, bought, or sold daily on eBay. In 2006, eBay launched its Business & Industrial category, breaking into the industrial surplus business. Generally, anything can be auctioned on the site as long as it is not illegal and does not violate the eBay Prohibited and Restricted Items policy. Services and intangibles can be sold, too. Large international companies, such as IBM, sell their newest products and offer services on eBay using competitive auctions and fixed-priced storefronts. Separate eBay sites such as eBay US and eBay UK allow the users to trade using the local currency. Software developers can create applications that integrate with eBay through the eBay API by joining the eBay Developers Program. In June 2005, there were more than 15,000 members in the eBay Developers Program, comprising a broad range of companies creating software applications to support eBay buyers and sellers as well as eBay Affiliates.


title: EBay

text: Numerous government and police agencies around the world now use eBay as well as traditional auctions to dispose of seized and confiscated goods.


title: EBay

text: Controversy has arisen over certain items put up for bid. For instance, in late 1999 a man offered one of his kidneys for auction on eBay, attempting to profit from the potentially lucrative (and, in the United States, illegal) market for transplantable human organs.


title: EBay

text: Beginning in August 2007, eBay required listings in "Video Games" and "Health & Beauty" to accept its payment system PayPal and sellers could only accept PayPal for payments in the category "Video Games: Consoles". Starting January 10, 2008, eBay said sellers can only accept PayPal as payment for the categories "Computing > Software", "Consumer Electronics > MP3 Players", "Wholesale & Job Lots > Mobile & Home Phones", and "Business, Office & Industrial > Industrial Supply / MRO". eBay announced that starting in March 2008, eBay had added to this requirement that all sellers with fewer than 100 feedbacks must offer PayPal and no merchant account may be used as an alternative. This is in addition to the requirement that all sellers from the United Kingdom have to offer PayPal.


title: EBay

text: Further, and as noted below, it was a requirement to offer PayPal on all listings in Australia and the UK. In response to concerns expressed by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, however, eBay has since removed the policy on the eBay.com.au website requiring sellers to offer PayPal as a payment option.


title: EBay

text: On April 24, 2006, eBay opened its new eBay Express site, which was designed to work like a standard Internet shopping site for consumers with United States addresses. Before it closed in 2008, selected eBay items were mirrored on eBay Express, where buyers used a traditional digital shopping cart to purchase from multiple sellers. The UK version was launched to eBay members in mid-October 2006, but on January 29, 2008, eBay announced its intention to close the site. The German version, eBay Express Germany, was also opened in 2006 and closed in 2008.


title: EBay

text: At the 2008 eBay Developer's Conference, eBay announced the Selling Manager Applications program (SM Apps). The program allows approved developers to integrate their applications directly into the eBay.com interface. The applications created by developers are available for subscription by eBay members who also subscribe to Selling Manager.


title: EBay

text: eBay maintains a number of specialty sites including the discussion boards, groups, answer center, chat rooms, and reviews and guides. eBay's mobile offerings include SMS alerts, a WAP site, Java ME clients, and mobile applications for Windows Phone, Android OS, and Apple iPhone.


title: EBay

text: The initiative Choice in eCommerce was founded on May 8, 2013, by several online retailers in Berlin, Germany. The cause was, in the view of the initiative, sales bans and online restrictions by individual manufacturers. The dealers felt cut off from their main sales channel and thus deprived them the opportunity to use online platforms like Amazon, eBay, or Rakuten in a competitive market for the benefit of their customers.


title: EBay

text: Many unusual items have been placed for sale on eBay, including at least two previously undiscovered species, including the "Coelopleurus exquisitus" sea urchin.


title: EBay

text: In its earliest days, eBay was nearly unregulated. However, as the site grew, it became necessary to restrict or prohibit auctions for various items. Note that some of the restrictions relate to eBay.com (the US site), while other restrictions apply to specific European sites (such as Nazi paraphernalia). Regional laws and regulations may apply to the seller or the buyer. Generally, if the sale or ownership of an item is regulated or prohibited by one or more states, eBay will not permit its listing. Among the hundred or so banned or restricted categories:


title: EBay

text: Bidding on eBay (old or new)'s auction-style listing is called proxy bidding and is essentially equivalent to a Vickrey auction (sealed-bid), with the following exceptions.


title: EBay

text: In 2008, eBay implemented a system of seller ratings with four categories. Buyers are asked to rate the seller in each of these categories with a score of one to five, with five being the highest rating. Unlike the overall feedback rating, these ratings are anonymous; neither sellers nor other users learn how individual buyers rated the seller. The listings of sellers with a rating of 4.3 or below in any of the four rating categories appear lower in search results. Power Sellers are required to have scores in each category above 4.5.


title: EBay

text: In a reversal of roles, on January 24, 2010, Auctionbytes.com held an open survey in which sellers could rate eBay, as well as competing auction and marketplace sites. In the survey, users were asked to rank 15 sites based on five criteria: profitability, customer service, communication, ease of use, and recommendation.


title: EBay

text: eBay was ranked 13th, after other large sites such as Amazon and Craigslist, as well as lesser-known selling sites such as Atomic Mall, eCRATER, and Ruby Lane. In individual category rankings, eBay was rated the worst of all the 15 sites on customer service and communication, and average on ease of use. Some respondents stated they would have given eBay a rating of 10, three to five years ago. eBay was rated twelfth out of fifteen in the Recommended Selling Venue category.


title: EBay

text: Using MissionFish as an arbiter, eBay allows sellers to donate a portion of their auction proceeds to a charity of the seller's choice. The program is called eBay Giving Works in the US, and eBay for Charity in the UK. eBay provides a partial refund of seller fees for items sold through charity auctions. As of March 4, 2010, $154 million has been raised for US nonprofits by the eBay Community since eBay Giving Works began in 2003.


title: EBay

text: Some high-profile charity auctions have been advertised on the eBay home page. As of June 2010, the highest successful bid on a single item for charity was for the annual "Power Lunch" with investor Warren Buffett at the famous Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse in New York. The winning bid was $2.63 million with all of the proceeds going to the Glide Foundation. The winning bidder was not made public, but was able to bring up to seven friends to the lunch. In 2012, a higher bid, of $3.46 million, also going to the Glide Foundation, won a lunch with Buffet. In 2016 an anonymous bidder won a $3.45 million lunch with Warren Buffett and the money raised from the auction was given to Glide Foundation.


title: EBay

text: The previous highest successful bid on a single item for charity was for a letter sent to Mark P. Mays, CEO of Clear Channel (parent company of Premiere Radio Networks the production company that produces "The Rush Limbaugh Show" and "Glenn Beck Program") by Senator Harry Reid and forty other Democratic senators, complaining about comments made by conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh. The winning bid was $2,100,100, with all of the proceeds going to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, benefiting the education of children of men and women who have died serving in the armed forces. The winning bid was matched by Limbaugh in his largest charity donation to date.


title: EBay

text: In 2007, eBay Canada partnered with Montreal-based digital branding agency CloudRaker to develop a campaign to raise money for Sainte-Justine children's hospital in Montreal. They aligned themselves with Internet phenomenon Têtes à claques to create an eBay auction based on popular T-A-C character Uncle Tom, an infomercial host who pitches absurd products. eBay and CloudRaker reproduced Uncle Tom's imaginary products, The Body Toner Fly Swatter, The Willi Waller Potato Peeler, and the LCD Shovel and sold them online. In six weeks, they raised $15,000 for Hôpital St-Justine with one fly swatter, one potato peeler, and one shovel, a world record. The Body Toner Fly Swatter sold for $8,600, the Willi Waller Potato Peeler sold for $3,550, and the LCD Shovel sold for $2,146.21.


title: EBay

text: During auction setup, eBay provides shipping-method choices to sellers: ordinary mail, express mail, and/or courier service. The seller may choose to offer only one shipping method to buyers, or the seller may offer buyers a choice of options.


title: EBay

text: Very-low-value items shipped directly from China are sometimes shipped by surface mail (seamail), which is inexpensive but takes one to two months. If the buyer is in a hurry, he or she might be able to pay an extra fee to upgrade to second-class Surface Air Lifted shipping or to first-class airmail shipping.


title: EBay

text: Since 2012, eBay has been enlisting sellers into its "Global Shipping Program". If a seller uses the program, non-domestic buyers pay a fee to Pitney Bowes. The seller sends the item to a Pitney Bowes facility in the US (or the UK), which then forwards it to the buyer, taking care of all international shipping requirements. The program is claimed to enhance the product selection available to international buyers.


title: EBay

text: In March 2022, eBay stopped shipping in Russia and Ukraine due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: EBay

text: Common eBay criticisms involve concerns over fraud, forgeries and intellectual property violations in auction items. There are also issues of how negative feedback after an auction can offset the benefits of using eBay as a trading platform. eBay has been criticized for not paying UK taxes: the "Sunday Times" reported in October 2012 that eBay paid only £1.2m in tax on sales of over £800m.


title: EBay

text: On May 21, 2014, the company revealed that the consumer database of usernames, passwords, phone numbers, and physical addresses had been breached between late February and early March. Users were advised to change their passwords; to expedite this, a "change password" feature was added to profiles of users who had not yet done so. The Syrian Electronic Army took responsibility for the attack. The SEA said that even though the hack revealed millions of users' banking details to them, they would not misuse the data. They had replaced the front pages of the websites with their own logo, called "Defacing" in technical terms. The hack caused eBay's share price to crash in intra-day trade as a result of the breach of security.


title: EBay

text: A cyberstalking and harassment campaign conducted in 2019 against an online newsletter led to charges made public in 2020 against seven members of eBay's global security team, as well as arrests of two of those charged. Wenig, the company's CEO at the time of the harassment campaign, has not been charged.


title: Sebastian Stan

text: Sebastian Stan (born August 13, 1982) is a Romanian-American actor. He gained recognition for his role as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe media franchise beginning with the film "" (2011), and most recently starring in the Disney+ miniseries "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (2021).


title: Sebastian Stan

text: On television, Stan has played Carter Baizen in "Gossip Girl", Prince Jack Benjamin in "Kings", Jefferson in "Once Upon a Time", and T.J. Hammond in "Political Animals". The latter earned him a nomination for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries. In 2022, he received critical acclaim for playing Tommy Lee in the Hulu miniseries "Pam & Tommy" earning a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nomination.


title: Sebastian Stan

text: In films, he co-starred in Jonathan Demme's comedy-drama "Ricki and the Flash", Ridley Scott's science fiction film "The Martian" (both 2015), and Steven Soderbergh's "Logan Lucky" (2017). He has since become a leading man starring in the biopic "I, Tonya" (2017), and the thriller "Fresh" (2022).


title: Sebastian Stan

text: Stan was born in Constanța, Romania. His parents divorced when he was two years old. When he was eight, Stan and his mother, Georgeta Orlovschi, moved to Vienna, Austria, where she was employed as a pianist, following the Romanian Revolution. Four years later, they moved to Rockland County, New York, after his mother married the headmaster of a school in the United States. He was raised in the Romanian Orthodox Church.


title: Sebastian Stan

text: During Stan's years at the Rockland school, he starred in productions including "Harvey", "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Little Shop of Horrors", "Over Here!", and "West Side Story". He also attended the Stagedoor Manor summer camp where he was cast in many camp productions. It was then that he decided to take acting seriously and began to apply for acting programs at several universities. He attended Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts, which gave him the opportunity to spend a year abroad studying acting at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, England. He graduated from Rutgers in 2005. Stan became a United States citizen in 2002.


title: Sebastian Stan

text: After an appearance in the 1994 film "71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance", Stan's career began in earnest in 2003 with a role on "Law & Order". This was followed by several film appearances, including "Tony n' Tina's Wedding", "The Architect", and "The Covenant", before he earned a recurring role on "Gossip Girl" as Carter Baizen, beginning in 2007. Stan performed a lead role in the 2009 series "Kings" as Jack Benjamin. In 2010, he appeared in Darren Aronofsky's ballet thriller "Black Swan" and in the comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine" as antagonist Blaine. In 2011, he portrayed Bucky Barnes in the film "", based on the Marvel Comics character. Although it was his first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it was not part of the nine-picture contract he has with Marvel Studios. Stan later said that about a month after the film was released, he struggled with paying rent.


title: Sebastian Stan

text: In 2012, he starred in the thriller "Gone", the supernatural horror film "The Apparition", and began a recurring role in "Once Upon a Time" as the Mad Hatter. "The A.V. Club" described his work in "Hat Trick", his premiere episode, as "excellent" and placed the episode in their list of the 30 best episodes of 2012 from the series that did not make their top list. It was initially reported the role would be recast for the spin-off series "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" due to Stan's commitment to the MCU, but Edward Kitsis revealed that due to fan backlash and respect for Stan's performance, the character would not be recast and the series would proceed without the character. The same year, he also appeared in the USA Network miniseries "Political Animals" as the troubled gay son of the former First Lady, for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries. In 2013, Stan played Hal Carter in the Roundabout Theater Company's production of William Inge's "Picnic" at the American Airlines Theater in New York.


title: Sebastian Stan

text: In 2014, Stan reprised his role as Bucky Barnes, now called Winter Soldier, in the first film of his nine-movie contract, "". In 2015, he played Joshua Brummel in "Ricki and the Flash", and co-starred in "The Martian" as NASA scientist Dr. Chris Beck and "The Bronze" as Lance Tucker. Stan reprised his role as the Winter Soldier in 2015's "Ant-Man", by making a cameo appearance, and "" in 2016. In 2017, Stan co-starred as NASCAR driver Dayton White in Steven Soderbergh's caper comedy "Logan Lucky", portrayed Jeff Gillooly in Craig Gillespie's biopic "I, Tonya", and starred in the drama "I'm Not Here".


title: Sebastian Stan

text: In 2018, Stan again portrayed Winter Soldier in both "Black Panther", as an uncredited cameo, and in "". He then appeared opposite Nicole Kidman in the thriller film "Destroyer". Stan portrayed Charles Blackwood in "We Have Always Lived in the Castle", an adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel of the same name. Stan's first film of 2019 was "", released in April, for which he reprised his role as Winter Soldier. His second film of the year, "Endings, Beginnings", premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.


title: Sebastian Stan

text: Stan starred as protagonist Scott Huffman in the Vietnam War drama film "The Last Full Measure", which was released in January 2020. In addition, Stan appeared in "Monday" and "The Chain". In February 2019, he replaced his Marvel co-star Chris Evans in the drama film "The Devil All the Time", which premiered on Netflix in 2020. In April 2019, Disney confirmed a Marvel television series starring Stan and Anthony Mackie, called "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier", which began airing on Disney+ on March 19, 2021, and ran through April 23, 2021. In May 2019, Stan joined the cast of spy thriller "The 355", which was released in 2022. Stan starred next as Tommy Lee in Hulu's biographical miniseries "Pam & Tommy", for which received nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and in the thriller film "Fresh".


title: Sebastian Stan

text: Stan is a supporter of many charitable organizations, including Our Big Day Out, a nonprofit based in Romania that helps provide children with a higher quality of life. In February 2018, he thanked fans on behalf of the organization for participating in fundraising and awareness on Instagram.


title: Sebastian Stan

text: He is also associated with the Ronald McDonald House. In 2020, he attended the charity's first Virtual Gala with his Marvel co-star Anthony Mackie. Other charities supported by Stan include Dramatic Need and Save the Children.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the European Championship competition, UEFA president Michel Platini declared that the tournament would be hosted in several nations as a "romantic" one-off event, with 11 cities in 11 UEFA countries each providing venues for the tournament. Defending champions Portugal, who won UEFA Euro 2016 in France, were eliminated in the round of 16 by Belgium. Italy won their second European Championship title by beating England on penalties in the final following a 1–1 draw after extra time. The win came exactly on the 39th anniversary of Italy's 1982 FIFA World Cup Final win over West Germany.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The tournament was originally intended to be played between 12 June and 12 July 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe during that year, the tournament was postponed to June and July 2021, while retaining the name "UEFA Euro 2020" and host venues. Alongside special rules regarding COVID-19, UEFA also allowed two extra substitutions and implemented video assistant referee (VAR) for the first time.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Initially, there were 13 venues chosen for the tournament but two were later dropped. Brussels was dropped in December 2017 after the city's Eurostadium was abandoned, while Dublin was dropped in April 2021 because there was no guarantee that spectators could attend. Spain originally intended to use Bilbao as a host venue but later changed it to Seville to allow for spectators at matches. UEFA chose Stadio Olimpico in Rome to host the opening match between Italy and Turkey, while Wembley Stadium in London was selected as a semi-final and final venue for the second time, following the 1996 tournament at the original stadium of the same name.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The tournament was well received by fans and commentators, with the most goals per game in a European Championship since the introduction of the group stage, and only two goalless games. The refereeing style was also praised, with a conservative use of VAR and quick decisions made on the pitch.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: While some countries such as Belgium, Bulgaria and Romania, Germany, Hungary and Romania, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales,<ref name="Irish/Scottish/Welsh bid report"></ref> the Netherlands, and Turkey had already expressed an interest in bidding to host the tournament, then-UEFA president Michel Platini suggested at a press conference on 30 June 2012, a day before the UEFA Euro 2012 Final, that instead of having one host country, or joint hosting by multiple countries, the tournament could be spread over "12 or 13 cities" across the continent, as was done for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship's elite round, where each of the seven groups was hosted by a different country.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: On 6 December 2012, UEFA announced the tournament would be held in multiple cities across Europe to mark the 60th anniversary of the tournament. The selection of the host cities did not guarantee an automatic qualifying berth to the national team of that country. UEFA reasoned that the pan-European staging of the tournament was the logical decision at a time of financial difficulty, such as the European debt crisis. Reaction to UEFA's plan was mixed across Europe. Critics cited the expanded format (from 31 matches featuring 16 nations to 51 featuring 24) and its associated additional costs as the decisive factor for only one nation (Turkey) having put forward a serious bid.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The final list of bids was published by UEFA on 26 April 2014, with a decision on the hosts being made by the UEFA Executive Committee on 19 September 2014. There were two bids for the Finals Package (of which one was successful, marked with dark green for semi-finals and final) and 19 bids for the Standard Package (of which 12 were initially successful, marked with light green for quarter-finals and group stage, and yellow for round of 16 and group stage); Brussels, marked with red, were initially selected but removed from the list of venues by UEFA on 7 December 2017. Dublin, marked in red, was initially selected but removed from the list of venues by UEFA on 23 April 2021. On the same day, UEFA also announced the matches in Spain would be moved from Bilbao to Seville.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe triggered concerns regarding its potential impact on players, staff and visitors to the twelve host cities of the tournament. At the UEFA Congress in early March, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said the organisation was confident that the situation could be dealt with, while general secretary Theodore Theodoridis stated that UEFA was maintaining contact with the World Health Organization and national governments regarding the coronavirus. The impact on football grew later that month, as numerous domestic and UEFA competition matches began taking place behind closed doors. By 13 March 2020, upcoming UEFA competition fixtures were postponed, while major European leagues were suspended, including the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, Premier League, and Serie A.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: UEFA held a videoconference on 17 March 2020 with representatives of its 55 member associations, along with a FIFPro representative and the boards of the European Club Association and European Leagues, to discuss the response to the outbreak for domestic and European competitions, including Euro 2020. At the meeting, UEFA announced that the tournament would be postponed to the following year, proposing that it take place from 11 June to 11 July 2021. The postponement allowed for pressure to be reduced on the public services in affected countries, while also providing space in the calendar for domestic European leagues that had been suspended to complete their seasons. On the following day, the Bureau of the FIFA Council approved the date change in the FIFA International Match Calendar. As a result, the expanded FIFA Club World Cup, due to take place in June and July 2021, was postponed. On 23 April 2020, UEFA confirmed that the tournament would still be known as UEFA Euro 2020.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: In May 2020, Čeferin stated that in principle the tournament would take place in the twelve selected host cities. However, he did not rule out the possibility of reducing the number of cities, as three hosts were unsure if matches could be held under the new schedule. The tournament venues and match schedule was reviewed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting on 17 June 2020. At the meeting, UEFA confirmed that all twelve original host venues would remain as hosts for the tournament in 2021, and approved the revised match schedule. However, Čeferin stated in October 2020 that it was still possible that the tournament could be played in fewer than the planned twelve host countries. The following month, UEFA stated that it "intends to hold Euro 2020 in the format and the venues confirmed earlier this year and we are working closely with all host cities on preparations". It was also announced that each host was discussing with UEFA and local health authorities on whether the venue could host matches at full capacity, between 100% and 50% capacity, at 33% capacity or behind closed doors. Each host city was asked to draw up two or three plans from the four options. The restrictions could also involve only local spectators to be permitted at matches. A final decision on which scenario would be applied individually at each venue was originally to be made on 5 March 2021. In October 2020, it was announced that UEFA matches would be suspended from taking place in Armenia and Azerbaijan until further notice due to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. However, this did not affect the planning of Euro 2020 matches to be held in Baku. This restriction was lifted in December 2020 following a ceasefire agreement between the countries.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: In a New Year's interview, Čeferin said, "Vaccination has started and I think we will be able to have full stands in the summer. For now, the plan is to play in all twelve countries. Of course, there are backup options in case a country has a problem. We are ready to organise competitions in eleven, ten or nine cities... and even only in one country, if necessary. However, I am 99.9 percent sure that we will have the European Championship in all twelve cities, as planned." On 27 January 2021, UEFA met with the host associations to discuss operational matters, and reaffirmed the tournament would be held across twelve cities. The deadline for hosts to submit their venue capacity plans was moved to 7 April 2021, with a final decision on host cities and spectators to originally be made by the UEFA Executive Committee on 19 April 2021. UEFA announced on the following day that Daniel Koch, the former head of communicable diseases at Switzerland's Federal Office of Public Health, would serve as the tournament's medical advisor on matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2021, the Israel Football Association offered to stage some tournament matches in the country, which had a high rate of vaccination. However, this was turned down by UEFA, who reiterated their commitment to the twelve host cities. In a March 2021 interview, Čeferin said, "We have several scenarios, but the one guarantee we can make is that the option of playing any Euro 2020 match in an empty stadium is off the table. Every host must guarantee there will be fans at their games." UEFA subsequently stated that no host city would be automatically dropped should they decide to play matches behind closed doors. However, UEFA would need to consider whether it would make sense to play matches without spectators, or if these matches should be reallocated to other venues. That same month, British prime minister Boris Johnson offered UEFA to host additional tournament matches in England should any venues need to be reassigned.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: On 9 April 2021, UEFA announced that eight of the original twelve tournament hosts confirmed their spectator plans, with stadium capacities ranging from 25% to 100%. Only Bilbao, Dublin, Munich and Rome had yet to submit their plans, with each host originally given an extension until 19 April 2021 to submit their venue capacities. On 14 April, UEFA announced that Rome had guaranteed spectators for the tournament, and was therefore confirmed as a venue. On 19 April, it was announced that another extension was given to the three remaining hosts until 23 April, when UEFA would make its final decision. Due to the need to finalise ticketing details, host cities would have until 28 April to decide on whether to leave their spectator limits unchanged, or to upscale their allowed capacities.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: On 23 April, UEFA announced that Seville would replace Bilbao as tournament host, while the matches of Dublin would be reallocated to Saint Petersburg for the group stage and London for the round of 16. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland, the Football Association of Ireland was unable to receive assurances from the Government of Ireland and the Dublin City Council to allow spectators into the stadium. Meanwhile, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said the sanitary conditions imposed by the Basque Government to host matches in Bilbao were "impossible to comply with", and thus would not allow for spectators to be present. After being removed as hosts, the Bilbao City Council stated they held UEFA and RFEF "directly responsible for us not staging this sporting event and the unilateral cancellation of our contractual relationships", and threatened legal action for financial compensation.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Also on 23 April, UEFA announced that local authorities had guaranteed "a minimum of 14,500 spectators" for the matches scheduled in Munich, which was therefore confirmed as host of four games. However, both the regional government of Bavaria and the German interior ministry subsequently reiterated their position that there was no such guarantee, and admittance of spectators would depend on the actual pandemic situation at the time of the tournament. A few days later, UEFA president Čeferin backtracked in an interview with a German newspaper, denying that UEFA had demanded guarantees for games with spectators, and conceding that "the local authorities will decide before the games whether spectators will be admitted or not."


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Wembley Stadium's hosting of both the semi-finals and the final was threatened over quarantine restrictions in the United Kingdom that fans and 2,500 VIPs would be subject to. The Puskás Aréna in Budapest was considered as an alternative venue, as Hungary would have no entry restrictions for travel within the Schengen Area and could host the matches at full capacity. A spokesman for the Hungarian Football Federation said the organisation was "ready to host any high-level football event". However, UEFA remained confident that Wembley could host the final, as the organisation and the UK government discussed quarantine exemptions, but did not rule out a change in venue. Minister Kit Malthouse said the government was doing "as much as we possibly can" to host the final, while prime minister Boris Johnson stated they would try to make "sensible accommodations" for UEFA while still prioritising public health. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said the final should be held in Rome due to rising COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom. The following week, it was reported that officials and executives travelling for the matches would not need to self-isolate, though they would be subject to restrictions and required to remain in "football bubbles".


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: On 31 March 2021, the UEFA Executive Committee approved the use of a maximum of five substitutions in matches at the tournament (with a sixth allowed in extra time). However, each team are only given three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity allowed in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time. The use of five substitutes has been permitted by IFAB during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the resulting fixture congestion, which has created a greater burden on players.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: At the start of April 2021, UEFA also said they were considering allowing tournament squads to be expanded from the usual 23 players, following calls from national team managers in case of a possible COVID outbreak in a team, as well as to reduce player fatigue caused by the fixture congestion of the prior season. On 27 April, it was reported that the UEFA National Team Competitions Committee had approved the expansion of squads to 26 players, subject to confirmation by the UEFA Executive Committee. On 4 May 2021, the executive committee confirmed the use of 26-player squads. However, teams still may only name a maximum of 23 players on the match sheet for each tournament fixture (of which 12 are substitutes), in line with the Laws of the Game. These 23 must include three goalkeepers. It was also announced that after each team's first match, goalkeepers may still be replaced due to physical incapacity, even if the other goalkeepers from the squad are still available.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Water breaks were permitted so that players could drink from their own personal bottles. Cooling breaks, first seen at the 2014 FIFA World Cup were also permitted for games played in higher temperatures.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: On 4 May 2021, the UEFA Executive Committee approved special rules for the final tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe:


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: There was no automatic qualifying berth, and all 55 UEFA national teams, including the twelve national teams whose countries were selected to stage matches, had to compete in the qualifiers for the 24 places at the finals tournament. As the host cities were appointed by UEFA in September 2014, before the qualifiers, it was possible for the national teams from the host cities to fail to qualify for the finals tournament. The qualifying draw was held on 2 December 2018 at the Convention Centre Dublin in Dublin, Ireland.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The main qualifying process started in March 2019, instead of immediately in September 2018 following the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and ended in November 2019. The format remained largely the same, although only 20 of the 24 spots for the finals tournament were decided from the main qualifying process, leaving four spots still to be decided. Following the admission of Kosovo to UEFA in May 2016, it was announced that the 55 members at the time would be drawn into ten groups after the completion of the UEFA Nations League (five groups of five teams and five groups of six teams, with the four participants of the UEFA Nations League Finals guaranteed to be drawn into groups of five teams), with the top two teams in each group qualifying. The qualifiers were played on double matchdays in March, June, September, October and November 2019.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: With the creation of the UEFA Nations League starting in 2018, the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League was linked with Euro qualifying, providing teams another chance to qualify for the tournament. Four teams from each division that had not already qualified for the European Championship competed in the play-offs for each division. The winners of the play-offs for each division, which were decided by two one-off semi-finals (the best-ranked team vs. the lowest-ranked team, and the second-best-ranked team vs. the third-best-ranked team, played at home of higher-ranked teams) and a one-off final (with the venue drawn in advance between the two semi-finals winners), joined the 20 teams that had already qualified for the tournament.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Of the 24 teams that qualified for the tournament, 19 were returning from the 2016 edition. Among them were Belgium and Italy, who both had recorded flawless qualifying campaigns (ten wins in ten matches), defending European champions Portugal and world champions France, with Germany also qualifying for a record 13th straight European Championship. Finland and North Macedonia made their European Championship debuts, having never previously qualified for a major tournament. Scotland, a co-host of the tournament, qualified for their first major international tournament since the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and their first European Championship since 1996. The Netherlands and Denmark returned after missing out in 2016, with the Dutch featuring in a major tournament for the first time since the 2014 FIFA World Cup. For the first time, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Wales reached successive European Championship tournaments. Greece, winners in 2004, were the only former champions that failed to qualify, missing their second straight European Championship and third consecutive major tournament. Albania, Iceland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Romania failed to qualify after appearing in the 2016 finals.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Of the eleven host countries, seven managed to qualify directly for the tournament, while Hungary and Scotland qualified via the play-offs. Romania were eliminated in the semi-finals of the play-offs, and Azerbaijan were eliminated following the qualifying group stage. The Republic of Ireland, originally selected as a tournament host but later stripped of their hosting rights, were also eliminated in the semi-finals of the play-offs.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The 13 original venues were selected and announced by UEFA on 19 September 2014. However, the UEFA Executive Committee removed Brussels as a host city on 7 December 2017 due to delays with the building of Eurostadium. The four matches (three group stage, one round of 16) initially scheduled to be held in Brussels were reallocated to Wembley Stadium in London. On 23 April 2021, UEFA announced that due to a lack of guarantees regarding spectators caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Aviva Stadium in Dublin was removed as a tournament host. Their four matches were reallocated to Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg for the three group stage matches, and Wembley Stadium in London for the round of 16 fixture. Similarly, UEFA reassigned the four matches in Spain elsewhere in the country, with La Cartuja in Seville replacing San Mamés in Bilbao.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: On 7 December 2017, it was also announced that the opening match would take place at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, chosen ahead of Amsterdam, Glasgow and Saint Petersburg. UEFA decided that if they qualified, the opening match would feature Italy.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Of the eleven selected cities and countries, seven cities and six countries had never hosted a European Championship finals match before. Seville was not a venue when Spain hosted the 1964 European Nations' Cup, and none of Azerbaijan, Denmark, Hungary, Romania, Russia or Scotland had hosted the tournament previously. Of the eleven selected stadiums, only two had hosted a European Championship match before: the Stadio Olimpico (1968 and 1980) and the Johan Cruyff Arena (2000). The original Wembley stadium hosted games and the final in UEFA Euro 1996, but although it stood on the same site, this was classified as a different stadium to the current Wembley Stadium.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Each city hosted three group stage matches and one match in the round of 16 or quarter-finals, with the exception of Saint Petersburg, which hosted six group stage matches, and London, which hosted host two matches in the round of 16. The match allocation for the eleven stadiums is as follows:


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The host cities were divided into six pairings, established on the basis of sporting strength (assuming all host teams qualify), geographical considerations and security/political constraints. The pairings were allocated to groups by means of a random draw on 7 December 2017. Each qualified host country played a minimum of two matches at home. The following group venue pairings were announced:


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: If a host team in the play-offs failed to qualify, the path winner would take the spot of the host in the match schedule and therefore would play the two or three matches based on the above criteria in the host city of the respective host that failed to qualify. The draw took place on 22 November 2019, 12:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland (along with the draw for the play-offs). In the draw, which was only necessary for Group B (Denmark and Russia), two balls were prepared, with the first drawn hosting the three matches.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions on public gatherings, many of the venues at the tournament were unable to operate at full capacity. UEFA asked each host to devise a spectator plan in conjunction with their local/national government and health authorities. The hosts were given a deadline of 7 April 2021 to communicate their plans with UEFA. On 9 April, UEFA announced that eight of the tournament hosts had confirmed their stadium capacities, ranging from 25% to 100%. The remaining four hosts (Bilbao, Dublin, Munich and Rome) were given an extension until 23 April to submit their venue capacities. On 14 April, UEFA announced that Rome had also confirmed its venue capacity. On 23 April, the venue capacity for Munich was also confirmed, while Bilbao was replaced by Seville, which could guarantee spectators. In addition, Dublin was removed as a host, as it was unable to ensure spectators could attend.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Many of the matches did not see stadiums filled to their allowed capacity, with only Netherlands group stage matches that were played at the Johan Cruyff Arena seeing the stadium come within less than a thousand seats of being full. The match between England and Croatia saw an attendance of 18,497, compared to the allowed capacity of 22,500, with UEFA suggesting quarantine restrictions as the cause for the smaller attendance.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Each team chose a "team base camp" for its stay between the matches. The teams trained and resided in these locations throughout the tournament, travelling to games staged away from their bases. Unlike previous tournaments, each team could set up their base camp anywhere due to the pan-European format, without any obligation of staying in any of the host countries.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The base camps selected by the 20 directly qualified teams were announced by UEFA on 27 January 2020. The base camps of the remaining teams qualified via the play-offs were announced in 2021.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The draw for the final tournament was held on 30 November 2019, 18:00 CET (19:00 local time, EET) at Romexpo in Bucharest, Romania. The 24 teams were drawn into six groups of four. The identity of the four play-off teams were not known at the time of the draw and were identified as play-off winners A to D. Should there have been groups that could not be finalised at the time of the final tournament draw, another draw would have been held after the play-offs on 1 April 2020, but UEFA confirmed the additional draw was not necessary after the identity of the 20 directly qualified teams and the 16 play-offs teams was known.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The teams were seeded in accordance with the European Qualifiers overall ranking based on their results in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying. The following was the standard composition of the draw pots:


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: As two host teams from the same group could not be in the same seeding pot, the UEFA Emergency Panel would have either switched one host team with the lowest-ranked team of the higher pot, or switched one host team with the highest-ranked team of the lower pot (based on the principle that the move would have minimal impact on the original seeding). However, no seeding adjustments were necessary.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The draw started with Pot 1 and completed with Pot 4, from where a team was drawn and assigned to the first available group. The position in the group (for the determination of the match schedule) was then drawn. In the draw, the following conditions applied (including for teams that could still qualify via the play-offs):


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Due to the format of the play-offs, which made anticipating all possible scenarios impossible, the UEFA administration had to wait to solve issues relating to the final tournament draw until the completion of the qualifying group stage. It was not possible for UEFA to prevent one of the play-off paths from containing two host teams, resulting in Romania (Group C hosts) and Hungary (Group F hosts) being drawn together in Path A. Therefore, the winner of this play-off path needed to be assigned two groups in the final tournament draw. To allow for this, Path A was paired with Path D (which does not contain a host), therefore providing a clear scenario for each possible qualified team. A draw took place on 22 November 2019, 12:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland (along with the play-offs draw), which decided on the order of priority for the allocation of Path A to the final tournament groups.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: Two balls were prepared containing the names of the two groups hosted by the teams in question (Group C and Group F for Romania and Hungary, respectively). The first ball drawn determined the group ("priority group") that was allocated to Path A, with the exception of the host team of the second ball drawn ("non-priority group") winning Path A. In the draw, Group F was selected as the priority group, resulting in the following possible outcomes:


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The following was the composition of the pots, with teams divided and seeded as per their European Qualifiers overall ranking:


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The draw resulted in the following groups (teams in "italics" are play-off winners whose identity was not known at the time of the draw):


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: "Note: Positions for scheduling did not use the seeding pots, and instead used the draw positions, e.g. Team 1 was not necessarily the team from Pot 1 in the draw."


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: To lessen the load on players due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in case of an outbreak within a team, squad sizes were increased from 23 (used at every European Championship since 2004) to 26. However, the maximum number of players permitted on the match sheet for each tournament fixture remained 23. Each nation's squad, which had to include three goalkeepers, was submitted at least ten days before the opening match of the tournament (by 1 June 2021). If a player became injured or ill severely enough to prevent his participation in the tournament before his team's first match, he could be replaced by another player; however, goalkeepers could still be replaced after their team's first match due to physical incapacity.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: On 27 September 2018, the UEFA Executive Committee approved the use of the video assistant referee (VAR) system for the first time at the UEFA European Championship. On 12 February 2020, UEFA and CONMEBOL signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance collaboration, including the possibility of a team of South American match officials appointed for the group stage of the tournament.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: On 21 April 2021, UEFA announced the 19 refereeing teams for the tournament. This included Argentine referee Fernando Rapallini and his assistants, who were the first South American officials to be selected for the European Championship as part of UEFA's referee exchange programme with CONMEBOL. A group of Spanish officials were similarly selected for the 2021 Copa América.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: A refereeing team of nine officials was appointed for each match. The team of five at the stadium consisted of a referee, two assistant referees, a fourth official and a reserve assistant referee. In addition, four video match officials were located at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. This team consisted of a video assistant referee (the lead video official who was the main point of contact with the referee), an assistant video assistant referee (AVAR 1, who concentrated on following the match), an offside VAR (AVAR 2, who reviewed all potential offside situations) and a support VAR (AVAR 3, who acted in a coordination capacity). The tournament used the 2021 Laws of the Game, which came into force on 1 July but could be introduced in competitions that began immediately beforehand.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: In addition, UEFA announced 22 video match officials and twelve support match officials (who acted as fourth official or reserve assistant referee). This included support referee Stéphanie Frappart, the first female official at the UEFA European Championship finals.


title: UEFA Euro 2020

text: The opening ceremony took place at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, on 11 June 2021 at 20:35 (CEST) prior to the first match of the tournament. Italian opera tenor Andrea Bocelli performed the song "Nessun dorma". Martin Garrix, Bono and the Edge also featured, performing the tournament's official anthem, "We Are the People". The performance was a virtual one amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and was filmed at motion-control studios in London and at the Stadio Olimpico to recreate the stadium environment in 3D.