LONDON, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- UEFA has announced Thursday that the 2020 European Championship finals will be staged in various major cities across the continent.

The decision was made by the UEFA Executive Committee at its meeting in Lausanne Thursday.

UEFA says the decision to stage a "Euro for Europe", rather than a tournament in one or two host countries, follows an initial idea revealed by the UEFA President Michel Platini in June.

UEFA has consulted its member national associations about the proposal in the intervening period, and has received an extremely positive response, which has prompted Thursday's innovative move.