France selects cities for Euro 2016 bid

November 19 - The 12 cities that will host matches if France wins its bid for Euro 2016 have been selected.

Lens, Paris, Nancy, Strasbourg, Saint Etienne, Marseille and Toulouse will use their existing stadiums, although all of them will need renovation work.

Nice, Bordeaux, Lyon and Lille will have new stadiums built in time for the tournament.

The 12th location is the Stade de France in Saint Denis, to the north of Paris, which can hold 80,000 spectators and hosted the 1998 World Cup final, which France won.

Out of these 12 locations, nine will definitely be used for matches, while another three will be kept in reserve.

A decision on this will be made in February.

Metz and Montpellier’s applications to be host towns were rejected, while Rennes and Nantes ruled themselves out over financial concerns.

UEFA is expected to announce the winning country to host the tournament on May 27.

France is competing against Turkey, Italy and a joint bid by Norway and Sweden.