
Flights to watch Lionesses in Euros final selling out as England fans make last-gasp dash to Switzerland - but you CAN still get there
During the national team's nail-biting semi-final against Italy, in which the Lionesses secured a spot in the final thanks to a re-bounded Chloe Kelly penalty in the 118th minute, British Airways reported a 480 per cent surge in searches for Basel.
And with just two days left to go until the team goes for its second consecutive Euros title, a flight into Basel, which also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in May, will set you back around £865.
BA said earlier in the week it would be upgrading flights on the route to larger capacity aircraft to meet demand - but flights have now largely sold out, although a Saturday to Tuesday break is still possible, for around £660, with the carrier.
Flights to Zurich, around an hour away by road or rail, are also still available and enterprising travel companies have added extra coach trips to meet demand too.
British coach company Coach Innovations is offering travel-only return journeys to Basel for £229 including ferry travel from destinations including Birmingham, Northampton, South Mimms, Thurrock, Maidstone and Dover.
However, the trips don't include match tickets. Can you still get seats to watch the match, which kicks off at 6pm local time?
Yes, is the answer, with re-sale site Ticombo currently with plenty of options.
Basel bound! Larger aircraft and coach travel has been laid on for football fans ahead of the Lionesses quest for a second Euros title
On Friday morning, there were just over 500 tickets on offer, with £169 the cheapest ticket price - and the priciest coming in at £3,501.
The official UEFA site also offers re-sale tickets at 11am, with tomorrow and Sunday the last opportunities to purchase tickets at face value.
It was revealed yesterday that Prince William will be in attendance for the final this Sunday - two years after criticism for not watching them in the World Cup showpiece.
He took to social media after England staged a thrilling late comeback against Italy on Tuesday night, writing: 'Brilliant performance @Lionesses! One game from glory! #WEURO2025.
And now it has been confirmed by Kensington Palace that Prince William will put his summer holiday on hold.
The FA president will jet off to Basel in Switzerland for the final against the winner of Wednesday's second semi-final between Spain and Germany.
Back in 2023, the Prince of Wales turned down flying to Australia to watch England play Spain in the Women's World Cup final.
Basel remains perhaps Europe's most fascinating and bizarre place to fly to, this airport is the only place on Earth where you can simultaneously land in three countries.
With each exit serving an entirely different country, the airport is one for any keen aviation fan's bucket list.
Located in the north-eastern French region of Alsace, Basel Mulhouse Freiburg Airport serves the nearby cities of Basel, Switzerland, Mulhouse, France and Freiburg, Germany.
Set in the hub of the 'trinational Eurodistrict', the three countries overlap into one zone, with the airport split into both a French customs border and a Swiss customs border.
Operated by both France and Switzerland, the unique airport's board includes eight members from each, alongside two German advisers.
Dubbed the 'strangest airport in the world', the 'gateway to the trinational region' has frequently featured on TikTok.
One fan, speaking to his followers about the unique travel hub, said: 'It's the only airport that gives you access to three different countries at the same time.
'It is the only airport in the world that is managed by two different countries at the same time.
'That means the moment you arrive, within the same building you can choose to take the exit through the French side or the Swiss side. This is just crazy.'
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Daily Mail
a few seconds ago
- Daily Mail
Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi share rare glimpse of their blended family as they take Wolfie, Sienna and baby Athena to Lionesses' victory parade
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Edoardo and Beatrice's older daughter, Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, three, however, appeared unfazed by the large gathering as she waved England's flag while enjoying a sweet treat during her most public appearance yet. In one sweet moment, Beatrice was seen leaning over to talk to Wolfie, Edoardo's eight-year-old son with his former fiancee, architect Dara Huang. Beatrice often refers to Wolfie as her 'bonus child' who is frequently seen at royal events and family gatherings, including Christmas celebrations at Sandringham and the Princess of Wales's 2024 carol concert. The family was casually dressed as Princess Beatrice went makeup-free for the victory parade after Sarina Wiegman's side thumped Spain 3-1 on penalties in the nail-biting final on Sunday, July 27. Beatrice pulled her hair back into a messy bun and dressed for cooler weather in London today as she paired a cream sweater with a blue, floral print maxi skirt from Farm Rio. Sienna was matching with her baby sister, as the toddler was dressed in a pink t-shirt - with an adorable bow clipped to her blonde hair. Prior to today's appearance, Sienna's family has only shown the back of her head in public posts and birthday announcements. However, a friend of Beatrice told Tatler earlier this year: 'Sienna is absolutely gorgeous and looks exactly like Bea. She's really cheeky and has a very good personality.' Buckingham Palace announced Princess Beatrice and Edoardo - who tied the knot in 2020 - welcomed Athena Rose on January 22. The newborn is 11th in line to the British throne, pushing her aunt Princess Eugenie down to 12th place. The family's trip to The Mall to celebrate the Lionesses victory comes after Beatrice's cousin, Prince William and his daughter Charlotte travelled to Basel, Switzerland, to watch the dramatic Euros final last week. The team roared to a 3-1 victory in a thrilling penalty shootout that saw them triumph over Spain and retain their title as the European champions following their 2022 win. Sweet images of the young princess with her father show them doing almost exactly identical expressions of shock as the tense match unfolded. The royal was also given a winners medal to keep after the presentation ceremony - which she was seen holding on to reverently. Princess Beatrice's most recent appearance comes after she and Edoardo marked their fifth wedding anniversary. The British property developer, 41, paid tribute to Beatrice as an 'incredible partner, the most beautiful and amazing wife' in a gushing Instagram post on July 17 - five years after the couple said 'I do' in a private Windsor ceremony. He shared a snap of the couple posing together on a beach in Scotland, which he accompanied with the sweet caption. It read: 'Happy 5th Anniversary to my incredible partner, the most beautiful and amazing wife. I cherish every moment we've spent together and am deeply grateful for our journey. Here's to countless more years filled with laughter and tons of love!' The Lionesses have enjoyed a heroes' welcome after they emerged victorious over the Spanish side in a dramatic finale to the Euros tournament. Thousands of fans joined in the victory celebrations as they cruised through The Mall on board a bus emblazoned with the slogan '2022 and 2025 European Champions' just after noon today. Rapid preparations had been made for the ceremony after Sarina Wiegman's team thumped Spain 3-1 on penalties following a tense and drawn-out 120 minutes of stalemate football in Basel, Switzerland on Sunday. The Lionesses turned out in t-shirts that read 'HOME', with the 'H' stylised as a pair of letter 'I's in recognition of their two European titles on the trot, and red scarves bearing the Three Lions and the word 'CHAMPIONS'. Kerry Davis - the first Black women's footballer to play for England - then brought out the Euro 2025 trophy alongside Jane Oboavwoduo, a 14-year-old forward in the England Under-17s, before the team hoisted it aloft in a flurry of red smoke to the cheers of thousands. A tearful Leah Williamson told the crowds it had been like a 'fairytale', adding: 'I've been crying all the way down the Mall. It's unbelievable. It's one of the best things we've ever been a part of.' She continued: 'There's lots of ways to win a football match and we repeatedly did it the hard way. You can see how much we care about playing for England. How much we love it.'


Telegraph
a few seconds ago
- Telegraph
‘I used to feel defined by my salary – moving to France changed that'
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Andy would split his time between France and their home in Wimbledon, London, for work as a marketing consultant, while Jenny, who had just found out she was pregnant, would stop working for a few years. Now, 20 years later, Andy, 62, has retired to the house in France and spends all of his time there, while Jenny is commuting back to London part-time to her job in financial services. Their children Camille, 20, and Etienne, 17, are both in education. 'I've always had a sense of adventure, but never envisaged myself retiring overseas. My life constantly surprises me,' says Turner. Brexit has hit expats Now Andy is retired, a typical day involves walking his Cocker Spaniel, Obi, and spending time outdoors. He has joined an association that restores dry stone walls and buildings in the local area, and enjoys riding his motorcycle. According to the International Living annual Global Retirement Index report, France is the fifth best place to retire in the world. It is rated for its food, arts and scenery, as well as its healthcare system and affordable property prices. On an overall cost of living index, France and the UK rank similarly, at 63.5 and 63.9 respectively, according to the online database Numbeo. It said the cost of eating out, public transport and utilities are cheaper in France, but groceries are cheaper in the UK. Property prices vary significantly between regions, but it estimates that a non-city centre apartment would cost about £3,247 per square metre, compared to £3,674 in the UK. Andy will receive his full state pension in a few years, having filled in the gaps in his National Insurance contributions. He hasn't yet accessed his private pension savings. 'We're lucky that we have savings and are debt-free, and Jenny is now paying into a company pension,' he says. In France, British expats still get their state pension uprated each year under the triple lock, which guarantees that the payment rises by the highest of inflation, average wage growth or 2.5pc. There are an estimated 150,000 British expats living in France, according to the wealth management company Chase Buchanan. But moving there has become harder since Brexit – you now need a long-stay visa or residence permit to live in the country. This may involve proving your income meets a minimum requirement, based on the French minimum wage – about €1,400 (£1,214) a month after tax – and providing documentation such as your passport and medical insurance, plus details of where you will live. Andy says the family applied for a residence permit based on the UK's Brexit withdrawal agreement: 'It was a lot of work, but we now have a 10-year permit, and have decided to apply for nationality to protect ourselves from any future changes.' Normally you will be deemed a tax resident if you have either lived in France for at least 182 consecutive days or have registered for a residency permit. This means you will be taxed in France on your worldwide income and must submit a tax return. You may also have to submit a UK tax return if some of your income comes from there, but a double tax treaty between the two countries means you should not be taxed twice on the same income. Paying tax in France Income tax works very differently in France, and is levied on household rather than individual income. The family is divided into parts, and their total income split between the parts. The income tax rate you pay depends on this figure. The number of parts is based on the make-up of the household. For example, a married couple would have two parts, and an additional half part for each of the first two children. Income between €11,498 and €29,315is taxed at 11pc, rising to 30pc on income above this threshold and up to €83,823. 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The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Who wants to be a millionaire? 1 in 10 Americans already is but the status loses its luster
As a child, Heidi Barley watched her family pay for groceries with food stamps. As a college student, she dropped out because she couldn't afford tuition. In her twenties, already scraping by, she was forced to take a pay cut that shrunk her salary to just $34,000 a year. But this summer, the 41-year-old hit a milestone that long felt out of reach: She became a millionaire. A surging number of everyday Americans now boast a seven-figure net worth once the domain of celebrities and CEOs. But as the ranks of millionaires grow fatter, the significance of the status is shifting alongside perceptions of what it takes to be truly rich. ' Millionaire used to sound like Rich Uncle Pennybags in a top hat,' says Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors, a wealth management firm in El Segundo, California. 'It's no longer a backstage pass to palatial estates and caviar bumps. It's the new mass-affluent middleweight class, financially secure but two zeros short of private-jet territory.' Inflation, ballooning home values and a decades-long push into stock markets by average investors have lifted millions into millionairehood. A June report from Swiss bank UBS found about one-tenth of American adults are members of the seven-digit club, with 1,000 freshly minted millionaires added daily last year. Thirty years ago, the IRS counted 1.6 million Americans with a net worth of $1 million or more. UBS — using data from the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and central banks of countries around the globe — put the number at 23.8 million in the U.S. last year, a nearly 15-fold increase. The expanding ranks of millionaires come as the gulf between rich and poor widens. The richest 10% of Americans hold two-thirds of household wealth, according to the Federal Reserve, averaging $8.1 million each. The bottom 50% hold 3% of wealth, with an average of just $60,000 to their names. Federal Reserve data also shows there are differences by race. Asian people outpace white people in the U.S. in median wealth, while Black and Hispanic people trail in their net worth. Barley was working as a journalist when her newspaper ended its pension program and she got a lump-sum payout of about $5,000. A colleague convinced her to invest it in a retirement account, and ever since, she's stashed away whatever she could. The investments dipped at first during the Great Recession but eventually started growing. In time, she came to find catharsis in amassing savings, going home and checking her account balances when she had a tough day at work. Last month, after one such day, she realized the moment had come. 'Did you know that we're millionaires?' she asked her husband. 'Good job, honey,' Barley says he replied, unfazed. It brought no immediate change. Like many millionaires, much of her wealth is in long-term investments and her home, not easy-to-access cash. She still lives in her modest Orlando, Florida, house, socks away half her paycheck, fills the napkin holder with takeout napkins and lines trash cans with grocery bags. Still, Barley says it feels powerful to cross a threshold she never imagined reaching as a child. 'But it's not as glamorous as the ideas in your head,' she says. All wealth is relative. To thousandaires, $1 million is the stuff of dreams. To billionaires, it's a rounding error. Either way, it takes twice as much cash today to match the buying power of 30 years ago. A net worth of $1 million in 1995 is equivalent to about $2.1 million today, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A seven-figure net worth is, to some, as outdated a yardstick as a six-figure salary. Nonetheless, 'millionaire' is peppered in everything from politics to popular music as shorthand for rich. 'It's a nice round number but it's a point in a longer journey,' says Dan Uden, a 41-year-old from Providence, Rhode Island, who works in information technology and who hit the million-dollar mark last month. 'It definitely gives you some room to breathe.' No other country comes close to the U.S. in the sheer number of millionaires, though relative to population, UBS found Switzerland and Luxembourg had higher rates. Kenneth Carow, a finance professor at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, says commonalities emerge among today's millionaires. The vast majority own stocks and a home. Most live below their means. They value education and teach financial responsibility to their children. 'The dream of becoming a millionaire,' Carow says, 'has become more obtainable.' Jim Wang, 45, a software engineer-turned finance blogger from Fulton, Maryland, says even if hitting $1 million was essentially 'a non-event' for him and his wife, it still held weight for him as the son of immigrants who saved money by turning the heat off on winter nights. The private jets he envisioned as a kid may not have materialized at the million-dollar threshold, but he still sees it as a marker that brings a certain level of security. 'It's possible, even with a regular job,' he says. 'You just have to be diligent and consistent.' The resilience of financial markets and the ease of investing in broad-based, low-fee index funds has fueled the balances of many millionaires who don't earn massive salaries or inherit family fortunes. Among them is a burgeoning community of younger millionaires born out of the movement known as FIRE, for Financial Independence Retire Early. Jason Breck, 48, of Fishers, Indiana, embraced FIRE and reached the million-dollar mark nine years ago. He promptly quit his job in automotive marketing, where he generally earned around $60,000 a year but managed to stow away around 70% of his pay. Now, Breck and his wife spend several months a year traveling. Despite being retired, they continue to grow their balance by sticking to a tight budget and keeping expenses to $1,500 a month when they're in the U.S and a few hundred dollars more when they travel. Hitting their goal hasn't translated to luxury. There is no lawn crew to cut the grass, no Netflix or Amazon Prime, no Uber Eats. They fly economy. They drive a 2005 Toyota. 'It's not a golden ticket like it was in the past,' Breck says. 'For us, a million dollars buys us freedom and peace of mind. We're not yacht rich, but for us, we're time rich.' ___ Matt Sedensky can be reached at msedensky@ and