Euro 2012 will be the 14th football contest among European countries. The final part of the championship begins on June 8th and ends on July 1st. Ukraine and Poland host Euro-2012. In Kiev they are still discussing the decision to holding the Euros in Ukraine, while Warsaw reports 90 per cent readiness.
Katazhina Soberayska, Poland’s vice Minister of Sport and Tourism said: “Most of the championship-related programs are fulfilled or have entered the final stage. We have scheduled the ‘state of complete readiness’ for May 15. You know that we are organizing this championship in cooperation with Ukraine. As far as the projects are concerned, the biggest of them is the construction of 4 splendid modern stadiums, the biggest one in Warsaw, which can accommodate up to 80,000 viewers. We have also completed a number of infrastructural projects: ameliorations of roads and airports. Warsaw airport is now ready to channel 12 million passengers instead of 10 million; the airports of Wroclaw and Gdansk and Poznan are being renovated, as well as the railroad hubs. I should tell you that the speed of the railroad communication between Wroclaw and Warsaw will increase considerably. The security of the Championship will be ensured by 90,000 policemen. Our main motto for this event is ‘Security first’, and I hope it will go accordingly. In Warsaw near the Science and Culture Palace as well as in Wroclaw and Poznan we will organize special ‘spectator zones’ where the fans will be able to watch games on large screens. The zones will accommodate some 30,000 viewers. We have fulfilled all of UEFA’s requirements. The internet-portal Polish Guide is a place where each and every fan will be able to be present at the games on-line as well as to book tickets for the games and for all of our kinds of transport.”
Consular departments are making themselves ready to provide football fans with Polish visas. Ianush Bilskiy, deputy director of the Consular Department of the Polish Foreign Minister, said that “we are preparing for the major influx to come from Ukraine and Russia. So we took care to turn our Consular departments in these countries virtually into visa departments. We enacted a number of facilities for those who wish to obtain visas: our departments will work in two shifts and they will work on holidays as well. We have increased the efficiency of our departments, and among other things modernized our computer systems. As for other facilities, those fans who already have tickets for a game will have to apply only for a visa request along with their health insurance to our departments, while those who don’t have tickets will have to apply for a regular tourist visa. The request for a tourist visa can be applied 3 months before the trip, so you can already start applying to our departments.”
Iatseh Voychehovich, vice-mayor of Warsaw told journalists: “Warsaw, as one of the city-hosts of the Championships, has been preparing for the event for years in order to look attractive for the visitors. As for investments, since 2007 and up until now Warsaw has invested some 17 billion zlotys into the project. State investment in railways and roads amounts to 33 billion zlotys. I would like to say that the main place to host the Championship’s games will be the National Stadium; one can’t imagine the Championship without it. But we also took care of other things, so that guests as well as Warsaw residents would enjoy this period. We hope to present Warsaw as a city worth visiting. We expect the flow of tourists to increase considerably after the championship. At this point we have already done everything possible and now we are finalizing some organizational issues.”
