UEFA Champions League final 2021 tickets - How to apply and flight prices after Man City v Chelsea switched to Porto

This year’s Champions League Final will be an all-English affair between Manchester City and Chelsea
The Champions League Trophy is the most prestigious club title in European football.The Champions League Trophy is the most prestigious club title in European football.
The Champions League Trophy is the most prestigious club title in European football.

UEFA have announced that the 2021 Champions League Final will now be held in Portugal at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao.

Manchester City beat Paris Saint Germain to reach the final for the first time in their history.

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And they will face Premier League rivals Chelsea, who beat Real Madrid 2-0 in their second leg clash to seal a 3-1 aggregate win.

It means there will be a second all-English final after the 2019 showpiece between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

The issue of where the game will be held has dominated proceedings all week. Here’s all you need to know:

When is the Champions League final? What time is kick-off?

This year's final takes place on Saturday 29 May. The kick-off time has not yet been confirmed but it is expected the Champions League final will begin at 8pm BST.

The Estadio do Dragao, Porto, where the 2021 Champions League final between Chelsea and Manchester City will be held.The Estadio do Dragao, Porto, where the 2021 Champions League final between Chelsea and Manchester City will be held.
The Estadio do Dragao, Porto, where the 2021 Champions League final between Chelsea and Manchester City will be held.

Where is the final being held?

The final will be held at Estadio do Dragao, in Porto, Portugal.

The final was originally slated to be held at Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium but has been switched after Turkey was placed on the ‘red list’ by the UK Government.

The stadium was due to host European football's showpiece last year as well but the final stages were rescheduled and moved to Lisbon due to the coronavirus crisis.

A UEFA spokesman said: “The final was originally scheduled to take place at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul but, following the UK government’s decision to place Turkey on its red list of Covid-19 travel destinations, staging the final there would have meant none of the clubs’ domestic fans would be able to travel to the game.

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“After a year of fans being locked out of stadiums, UEFA thought that everything needed to be done to ensure the supporters of the two finalist teams could attend.”

Why wasn’t the final hosted at Wembley?

Wembley was considered as an alternative to Istanbul but the British Government could not accommodate its request to allow quarantine exemptions for thousands of sponsors, VIPs and broadcasters, which made Porto the front-runner.

UEFA said: “UEFA discussed moving the match to England but, despite exhaustive efforts on the part of the Football Association and the authorities, it was not possible to achieve the necessary exemptions from UK quarantine arrangements.”

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin added: “We accept the decision of the British Government to place Turkey on the red list for travel was taken in good faith and in the best interests of protecting its citizens from the spread of the virus but it also presented us with a major challenge in staging a final featuring two English teams.

“The difficulties of moving the final are great and the FA and the authorities made every effort to try to stage the match in England and I would like to thank them for their work in trying to make it happen."

Will fans be able to attend the final?

UEFA confirmed that 6,000 tickets would be made available to each of the finalists, with the final capacity limit at the Estadio do Dragao still to be fixed.

It is likely to include some tickets on general sale, as well as places for VIPs, sponsors and guests of UEFA, including representatives of the 55 football federations across the continent.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said: “Fans have had to suffer more than 12 months without the ability to see their teams live and reaching a Champions League final is the pinnacle of club football. To deprive those supporters of the chance to see the match in person was not an option and I am delighted that this compromise has been found."

Champions League final tickets – how to apply

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UEFA are set to give 6,000 tickets each to Chelsea and Manchester City fans.

UEFA said: "Information about the ticket sales for this match (availability of tickets, application deadline, ticket prices, etc.) will follow in due course."

Both Man City and Chelsea released statements saying they would update supporters as soon as possible.

How much are flights to Porto? How to book your flight

Flight prices to Portugal rocketed this week even before the announcement that Porto would host the final.

A return direct flight at midday for the weekend of the game from Stansted to Porto was available for £200 on Tuesday morning, but rocketed three-fold to £623 by Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday there was limited availability of direct flights and even those involving early morning departures had reached £600.

Cheaper fares are still on sale for people willing to travel early in the morning or using indirect routes.

Lisbon flights have also increased, as speculation initially suggested the Portuguese capital could stage the game. Flights bought on Monday evening for £160 had soared to £309 - an increase of 93% - by Tuesday morning as fans began to realise Portugal was a more likely destination.

Flights from Manchester have also risen sharply week on week. The cheapest direct Easyjet flight to Porto is £295, with return on the Sunday after the game costing £360.

What TV channel is it on? Stream details

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BT Sport have shown the final for free in the UK since they won the rights to broadcast the Champions League from the 2015-16 season.

This year’s Champions League final is likely to be shown on BT Sport 2, while it is set to be available to live stream for free on the BT Sport app, on BTSport.com, as well as on BT Sport’s YouTube channel.

Champions League odds

Manchester City are the favourites for the crown after their semi-final win over PSG. City are yet to win the Champions League, while Chelsea have won it once in 2012.

Man City: 4/9Chelsea: 7/4