Around 60,000 spectators are expected to attend tonight’s final between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium in London.

The crowd will largely consist of English fans, as COVID-19 restrictions mean only Italian fans living in the United Kingdom will be able to attend to support their team.

Fans have been one of the main storylines of the tournament, with mixed views on whether their attendance is a positive or not.

The return of spectators has been cherished by many, not least the broadcasters, who have been able to ditch fake crowd noise used during the domestic seasons in place of the real thing.

The regular sounds of matches have returned. Fans have been able to celebrate goals on mass, look anxious in the stands as their teams’ hopes remain in doubt, as well as forgetting their side are on the brink of heart-breaking exit when they see themselves on the big screen and first point, then wave frantically.

It was commonplace throughout the early part of the tournament to hear commentators remark on "how good it is to have fans back".

This was predominantly uttered during matches involving Hungary at their national stadium, with the Puskas Arena filled to a capacity of 67,000 for three group games.

Whether by design or not, Hungary’s image was boosted sufficiently in the early rounds of the competition to lead to calls for the final to be moved to the Puskas Arena, amid doubts over Wembley would allow enough UEFA delegates, sponsors and broadcasters to attend without quarantine.

An agreement was eventually reached for the semi-finals and final to take place at Wembley, with England’s national stadium having gradually seen its capacity rise during the tournament.

Group matches at the venue were capped at 22,500, before an increase to 40,000 for the England and Italy’s last-16 matches against Germany and Austria, respectively.

The 60,000 spectators for the latter stages of the tournament mark the highest attendances for competitions in the United Kingdom since the start of the pandemic, with the events billed as pilots ahead of a full lifting of restrictions later this month.

The return of fans has not only been restricted to Euro 2020, with Wimbledon marking the first event to take place with a full capacity when the women’s singles final took place yesterday.

The near trebling of Wembley’s capacity in a such a short period of time has understandably led to politicians from other nations raising concerns. Germany's interior and Sports Minister Horst Seehofer claimed Britain was "irresponsible" for allowing so many fans to gather in stadiums, prior to the last-16 tie against Germany.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has played down concerns that the tournament may have led to spikes in new COVID-19 cases.

"Our health protocols are extremely tough, and everyone is tested, even those who have been vaccinated," he told the BBC’s The Sports Desk podcast. "I was tested 76 times.

"The teams are highly professional and they all respect the bubble system. Also, in the stadiums, we are very strict and when I see politicians saying people were infected at the matches, without any proof, it disappoints me a bit."

Ceferin, interestingly, also claimed that the tournament will be the "light at the end of the tunnel that we are finally coming to the end of this health crisis".

The quote was a familiar one.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach last March claimed the Olympic Flame would be the light at the end of the tunnel, shortly after the confirmation that Tokyo 2020 had been postponed to 2021.

Bach repeated the ambition for Tokyo 2020 in a New Year’s message at the start of 2021.

The announcement this week that the Games will effectively be held behind closed doors surely ends this narrative.

I am curious to see how the Olympic Games will be viewed outside of Japan as a result, with the United States and Europe now having seen sporting events held with large numbers of spectators over recent months.

The Opening Ceremony itself on July 23 will surely provide an important gauge, with the showpiece typically viewed as the launchpad for a Games.

Will Tokyo 2020 have this similar spark when the Ceremony takes place without spectators?

The absence of fans will clearly be a blow for athletes, although I suspect a large number have already reconciled themselves with the situation given that their families were prevented from attending earlier this year and numerous events have been held without a crowd present.

Will Tokyo 2020 be viewed by people outside Japan as a step backwards due to a likely return to fake crowd noise and spectator less stands we became accustomed to since sport returned last year?

Several Olympic observers in recent days have drawn the obvious comparison that UK to be hosting events with large capacities when it recorded over 35,000 new COVID-19 cases on one day last week, while Japan has shut doors on spectators on a day when cases moved past 2,000.

It seems fairly obvious to say that a country's grip on the pandemic should not be judged on whether they can fit fans into venues, despite the image it may portray. Equally it should not be for sporting officials to deem their events to be the supposed light at the end of the tunnel.

Executive director of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme, Michael Ryan, was asked earlier this week about events such as Euro 2020 being held with large numbers of fans.

Ryan, declined to mention specific events or gatherings, but urged those planning events to be careful and not be left with regrets.

"In terms of gathering events and looking back, I'm sure many people will look back with many regrets," Ryan said. "The real question when you look back on anything is whether or not you can reassure yourself that you understood risks, that you tried to manage and reduce those risks to zero and when something happened you reacted to that reality.

"What I would want to make sure is all of those individuals and countries and institutions planning events in the coming months; that due care and attention be paid to managing the risks associated with that.

"Moving forward we need to ensure that social engagements where people come together; that we assess the risks, we inform people and we manage and reduce those risks to as close to zero as possible and we're able to prioritise which of those events and which of those social gatherings are necessary, are valuable to our society.

"I think overall there's been a huge collaboration around the world in many institutions organising virtual events, scaled-back events, no-spectator events and gradually learning more and more about how to manage those risks associated with sports and other gatherings."

Having taken the extreme decision to remove spectators from the Olympic \games at a considerable cost, the Japanese Government could arguably be seen taken steps to ensure it has no regrets.