What to do while in Ukraine

Four more stadiums have been officially inaugurated, with the Arena Gdansk, the Municipal Stadium Wroclaw, the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv and the Arena Lviv receiving rave reviews when they opened their doors for the first time. Kyiv's renovated  Olympic Stadium, which will host five UEFA EURO 2012 matches including the final, was inaurated on 8 October with a vast theatrical production followed by a concert by the Colombian singer Shakira. "The whole country is celebrating a gift to all our people," said the president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych. The Arena Lviv, meanwhile, opened on 29 October with a concert by the American pop-star Anastacia. Over in Poland, Franszek Smuda's national side played their first game at the new Arena Gdansk on 6 September. Their 2-2 draw with Germany provided a memorable introduction to international football at the venue, which had opened in August. On 17 September, 30,000 people then enjoyed a George Michael concert to mark the officia

Poland's capital has undergone a transformation as it prepares for UEFA EURO 2012 and the end of the building work is in sight as the tournament approaches. The finishing touches are being put on the new National Stadium Warsaw in plenty of the big kich-off on 8 June 2012, whileWarsaw's Chopin airport awaits the first arrivals for the finals following its upgrade. The new airport in Modlin will be finished early in 2012 and will provide for 1.8 million passengers a year. Warsaw's rail infrastructure has also been improved. As well as a new line linking the two airports, the city centre and the stadium, the construction of a new station at Chopin airport is close to completion. The renovation of Warsawa Gdanska station is done, Warszawa Wschodnia and Warszawa Centralna stations are indergoing major overhauls, and the Warsawa Station is rebuilt. A second underground line is under construction, while new roads will facilitate the flow of traffic, including an express ring road

Former Olympic pole vaulting champion Sergei Bubka played down concern by soccer fans there won’t be enough hotel rooms during this summer’s European Championships in Ukraine and  Poland . “Huge progress was made in the last two years, when the new president and government came in,” Ukraine’s Bubka, who is a member of the organizing committee for the European Championships, said in a round table interview in  London  today. The country is hosting with Poland. London’s Daily Telegraph reported in December that England fans could face “a chronic shortage” of rooms. All of England’s group matches will be played in Ukraine. Dutch newswire ANP reported in January that the majority of Dutch fans would be flying in and out of Ukraine on the same day because there aren’t enough hotel rooms available. Dutch tour operators may also put some fans up in hotels in  Turkey , and fly them in and out for matches from there, ANP reported. “It will be sorted,” said Bubka, who is also president of the N

The new National Stadium Warsaw stands on the site of the former Tenth Anniversary Stadium and the development has revitalized the Praga district. Situated on the right bank of the Vistula, the stadium's red-and-white facade resembles a waving Polish flag and it will boast a capacity of 50,000 for the finals. National Stadium will host three Group A matches, including the tournament's opening game, one quarter-final and one semi-final. Construction work began in September 2008 and it will stage its first match - the Polish Super Cup between Legia Warsaw and Wisla Krakow - on 11 February. Poland's first game there will take place on 29 February. The stadium resembles a basket from a distance, an impression created by the external steel roof supports from which a 30 m spice is suspended over the center of the pitch. The renovated Warsaw Stadion railway station, meanwhile, will give fans easy access from the city center.

The first UEFA EURO 2012 broadcast partner workshop, staged in Warsaw, proved to be a great success as broadcast right holders received their first formal introduction to the services planned for next summer's final tournament. In total, 46 broadcast partners took part in the workshop, where they were by the CEO of UEFA Events SA, David Taylor; UEFA Events SA's marketing directing, Guy-Laurent Epstein; UEFA Events SA's operations director, Martin Kallen; and UEFA's communications director, Alexandre Fourtoy. The two-day workshop started on 21 June and offered UEFA its first opportunity to speak to a large group of broadcast partners. More than 120 participants heard presentations from all relevant UEFA divisions. "The broadcast partners are very happy with the current state of preparations and they trust us to deliver. We now need to live up to that trust and will not disappoint them," said Alexandre Fourtoy. "The broadcast partner family is extremely imp