Euro 2008: The Countdown Begins
May 17
Austria and Switzerland are ready to host the European Football Championship on June 7, having completed their preparations on schedule, one month before the kick-off. The last major construction projects have now been completed in Vienna.
The Ernst Happel stadium which will host the final, have been entirely modernized and refitted to seat 51,000 people, and builders finished putting up the 460 seat media centre last month. The stadium in the seven other host cities have been ready for months, including those in Zurich, Switzerland and Klagenfurt in southern Austria, which suffered some construction and renovation delays.
As renowned tourist destination, the co-hosts are well prepared to welcome hordes of visitors in June and can rely on their existing hotel infrastructure. Austria expects an additional 1.1 million overnight stays during the championship, while Switzer5land is counting 700000. Austria And Swill Rail are also planning to sun respectively 2000 and 2500 special trains during the championship to ensure that fans reach their chosen destination in time.
The co-host are each expecting some two million visitors and estimate the championship could bring in several hundreds of millions of Euros in profit. Beyond the stadia, the eight host cities – Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland, and the Austria towns of Innsbruck, Klagenfurt Salzburg and Vienna - are planning larger public viewing zones, with live games shown on giant screens, music performers and food stalls.
The two host countries were slow to show their enthusiasm for the upcoming tournament but Euro fever has now caught up with them and preparations are in full swing for a series of side events, including concerts, exhibits and parties to keep fans entertained during the championship.
Stumble it!
May 18 at 19:13
[...] Bollywood actor John Abraham has been roped in as brand ambassador for the UEFA European Football Championship 2008, to be held next month in Switzerland and [...]