Fans hoping to watch the Matildas take on England live on the big screens at two Sydney stadiums will be subjected to a first-in, first-served system, with doors to open an hour and a half before kick-off on Wednesday.
The government will not be creating an official ticketing system and instead, doors will open at 6.30pm at Western Sydney Stadium and Sydney Football Stadium.
Further details about the Paramatta and Moore Park sites are expected to be revealed later on Monday.
Announcing plans to open the extra live sites on Sunday, the premier, Chris Minns, said he wanted to give New South Wales the chance to break the viewing record held since Cathy Freeman’s 400m gold medal run at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.
“This is a once-in-a-generation moment in Australian sport and I want as many people as possible to be able to share in the excitement of the match in front of big screens with a community atmosphere,” he said.
The semi-final kicks off at 8pm at Stadium Australia.
It will also be screened at Darling Harbour, where more than 200,000 fans have watched games throughout the tournament.
The premier on Monday confirmed he was planning for a public holiday in NSW if the Matildas win the World Cup, while Victoria holds back plans to avoid “jinxing” the team.
He said he also wanted there to be a ticker-tape parade through the streets of Sydney on that day as a chance for people to celebrate.
“I don’t want to jinx this amazing team … but if we did do it in Sydney, for a big public holiday, and a massive ticker-tape parade, can you imagine the kind of energy, economic excitement?” he said on 2GB radio.
“It’d be an explosion in economic activity, particularly for the CBD.
“My sense is the people of Sydney in particular couldn’t wait to celebrate the team and the victory with the girls.”
The public holiday and parade would not be held until a week after the grand final, which the premier explained was a function of the way public holidays have to be planned according to the law in NSW.
Victoria’s tourism and sport minister, Steve Dimopoulos, said he was superstitious about froward planning for a public holiday.
“I don’t want to be the sports minister who jinxes the Matildas,” he said.
“Let’s get through Wednesday’s game first.”
