Fire at Etihad Stadium before Champions League game

Fans gathered two hours before Manchester City’s Champions League home game against Club Brugge on Wednesday as a merchandise stand burned engulfed by a fire outside Etihad Stadium.

As fans gathered to present the club’s January signings on a stage, the fire started in the kiosk close to the stadium’s main entrance just before 18:00 GMT.

Before the fire service arrived, which quickly extinguished the blaze near the entrance to the Colin Bell West Stand, stewards and security personnel had stopped the event and evacuated the area.

City announced on X at 7.11pm that the game would begin at 8 p.m. as originally scheduled, with fans moving around the stadium while all gates were open.

Reigning Premier League champions City need to win the match to reach the competition’s play-off round.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service stated in a statement that its firefighters were still present at the scene and are “currently dampening down any hotspots and making the area safe” shortly after 18:30.

Women’s performers Rebecca Knaak and Aemu Oyama, who were present at the time, were already on the stage when the fire started.

Men’s players Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov were set to follow them.