UEFA's midnight deadline for bid dossiers has seen 13 countries ditch planned bids, including France, Switzerland and Turkey.

Istanbul was seen as favourite to be awarded the semi-finals and final of the tournament, which will be held at the same venue, before withdrawing to focus on a bid for Euro 2024.

The 2020 edition of the competition will, for the first time, be held across the continent to tie-in with the 60th anniversary of the first European Championship.

Each of the 19 cities has bid to host a "standard package" of matches - which will be made up of three group games and one knockout round match in either the last 16 or the quarter-finals.

London's Wembley Stadium and Munich's Allianz Arena have also applied for the "finals package", which will be made up of both semi-finals and the final.

UEFA's announcement reveals dropped bids from Yerevan, Armenia; Athens, Greece; Astana, Kazakhstan; Madrid, Spain; Belgrade, Serbia and Donetsk, Ukraine.

"We are extremely happy to have received so many bids to host UEFA Euro 2020," said UEFA President Michel Platini.

"The 60th year anniversary edition of the tournament will be an historic one, with matches played in many European countries.

"By spreading the Euro across our continent, we will allow more fans from more nations to share in the excitement of hosting such a magical event.

"Member associations will also benefit greatly from this format, since more of them will be exposed to an elite tournament and have the opportunity to increase the development of football in their respective countries.

"I wish all the candidates the best of luck in this bidding process."

UEFA President Michel Platini has expressed his delight at the number of bids to stage games during Euro 2020 ©Getty Images



There has been criticism over the hosting format for Euro 2020, with FIFA President Sepp Blatter saying last year such a "fragmented" tournament would mean it loses its "heart and soul".

The 19 bidding cities are:

• Baku, Azerbaijan

• Minsk, Belarus

• Brussels, Belgium

• Sofia, Bulgaria

• Copenhagen, Denmark

• London, England

• Munich, Germany

• Budapest, Hungary

• Dublin, Republic of Ireland

• Jerusalem, Israel

• Rome, Italy

• Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

• Amsterdam, Netherlands

• Bucharest, Romania

• Saint Petersburg, Russia

• Glasgow, Scotland

• Bilbao, Spain

• Stockholm, Sweden

• Wales, Cardiff

UEFA will examine all 19 bid dossiers and write evaluation reports for its Executive Committee.

The successful host cities are due be announced on September 19 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Istanbul's announcement that it would bid for Euro 2024 - having initially been the only serious bidder for Euro 2020 before its hosting format was changed - has cast doubt on whether it will derail a possible bid for that year's Olympics and Paralympics.

International Olympic Committee rules would prevent Istanbul from hosting both events.

Twenty-four teams will play 51 games across a month of competition in 2020, with the dates for the tournament yet to be announced.

The 2016 edition, the first to be held in an expanded format composed of 24 rather than 16 teams, is being held in France from June 10 to July 10.