Jason Manford has said he received hundreds of messages from fans asking him to reschedule his comedy show that was due to take place during England’s World Cup semi-final clash with Croatia.
The comedian had been due to perform at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage on Wednesday evening but decided to delay after England beat Sweden in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
The show had already been rescheduled once due to heavy snow in March. He will now perform at the theatre on November 11.
Manford told the Press Association: “Following the fantastic result for England on Saturday and the literally hundreds of messages I’ve had about it from ticket-holders, I have decided to postpone my show on Wednesday night at the Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage, so as not to clash with the World Cup semi-final.
“The show has been rescheduled to Sunday 11th November and the venue will be in touch with all ticket-holders. Tickets will be transferable or a full refund will be given.
“I feel a bit like I’m in Final Destination and something is stopping me coming to Stevenage, especially since this show was halted back in March due to the Beast from the East!
“But I promise it will be third time lucky! It’s also Remembrance Sunday on 11th November, so I definitely won’t forget that!
“Apologies for any inconvenience and enjoy the game! #ItsComingHome #SoAmI”
Justin Timberlake has announced that he will watch the game with fans on the big screens in the O2 arena in London ahead of his show as part of his Man Of The Wood tour.
In a video, which was filmed inside the venue and shared on Twitter, Timberlake said: “I’ve been doing some thinking. We had a crazy show on Monday and we have got another one coming up on Wednesday but there is also another very important thing happening on Wednesday, so here is what we are going to do.
I heard there’s a big game on tomorrow before our show… so I had a little chat with @TheO2. SOUND ON. 🇬🇧⚽️ Doors open at 630. #MOTWTOUR pic.twitter.com/xH93fjYE4N
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) July 10, 2018
“I spoke to the O2 and, for the first time ever, doors will open at 6.30pm and we are going to play this England-Croatia match up on my big screens so come here and we will watch it together.
“I mean, I want to see it, you want to see it, we all want to see it, we are going to watch this together and you know what? It’s coming home.”
Film fans due to attend screenings of critically-acclaimed films Lion and Grand Budapest Hotel at British Summer Time in London’s Hyde Park on Wednesday will now find the match airing instead.
The festival announced it would be showing the semi-final on the big screen at the Great Oak Stage, with free tickets available through a ballot, and The Lightning Seeds will be performing anthem Three Lions ahead of the game.
We are very excited to announce that we will be performing in Hyde Park @BSTHydePark this Wednesday before the live screening of Croatia vs England #itscominghome #westillbelieve 🦁🦁🦁🏆⚽️ pic.twitter.com/CKI56n4mDo
— Lightning Seeds (@Lightning_Seeds) July 9, 2018
Organisers confirmed they had received tens of thousands of entries for tickets.
BIG NEWS… We've extended our FREE ticket ballot for Croatia v England to 8am tomorrow! That's 12 more hours to get your applications in.
We've had tens of thousands of entries so far so if you're having issues, please keep trying! https://t.co/rmYIkmHtY2 pic.twitter.com/XbMnANxMBW
— BST Hyde Park (@BSTHydePark) July 9, 2018
The film Lion, starring Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara, was due to be screening in the park at 5.30pm but will now be shown at 2.30pm on Tuesday.
The Grand Budapest Hotel, starring Ralph Fiennes, Saoirse Ronan and Owen Wilson, which was due to be shown at 8.30pm, has been moved to 2.30pm on July 12.
Some 16 Picturehouse cinemas have also made a screen available to show the match, including the flagship Picturehouse Central in London, while the Crouch End location will show it in the community room.
All together now: It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming…Football's coming to Picturehouse Central. Join us yet again this Wednesday to watch England play Croatia in the #WorldCup Semi-Finals! pic.twitter.com/ClKA1PR6LH
— Picturehouse Central (@CentralPictureH) July 9, 2018
TV schedules show BBC drama Picnic At Hanging Rock, starring Game Of Thrones actress Natalie Dormer, will air at 9.05pm on Wednesday, while coverage of the football match is still being broadcast on ITV.
Love Island is due to begin at 9pm on ITV2, with two new contestants set to enter the villa, but the show was pushed back to 10pm when the England match against Colombia went to penalties so it is likely the show could be delayed again if the match has not concluded by the reality show’s scheduled start time.