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Where the teams will be staying

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The 16 EURO 2012 contenders have chosen their base camps for this summer’s final tournament, with Ukraine one of two sides based in Kyiv, while co-hosts Poland will be in Warsaw along with Croatia, Greece and Russia. The local organising committees in Poland and Ukraine identified a selection of 38 outstanding accommodation options for the finalists, combining a hotel with nearby training facilities, all of which were included in the team base catalogue distributed to all 53 UEFA member associations in September 2010. After an application process, the associations with teams in the final tournament confirmed their bookings after the final draw in December 2011, with 13 of them having elected to stay in Poland for the duration of the tournament. Poland, Croatia, Greece and Russia will all be based in and around the capital, where the co-hosts will use the home of KSP Polonia Warszawa as their training ground. The Gdansk region proved to be equally popular: Denmark, Germany

Pulling out the stops to meet hotel requirements

Accommodating all the fans who will be travellingto Poland and Ukraine this summer has proved a challenge for the authorities in both countries, but one they have responded to with vigour. Poland has met UEFA’s requirements in full, while in Ukraine building is continuing apace. In both countries, massive strides have been made to meet the challenge of UEFA EURO 2012. In Poland, Warsaw built 30 new hotels between 2008 and 2010; in Gdansk that number increases to 42; in Wroclaw 11 new hotels provide an additional 980 rooms; and Poznan has 6 new hotels. Ukraine too has risen to the challenge. In Kyiv 5 hotels with 200 rooms or more have been built, adding 1,217 rooms in all, and 7 hotels have been built in Kharkiv. Lviv and the neighbouring area of Truskavets – a touristic destination – already has a well-developed hotel infrastructure and is considering using spas to accommodate fans. In addition, accommodation in areas surrounding the host cities in Ukraine will be used to meet th

UEFA EURO 2012 official song

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Having had a No.1 single in both co-host countries, German-American pop star Oceana is the natural choice to sing the official UEFA EURO 2012 song, the upcoming release of which is widely anticipated. Oceana – whose 2009 hit Cry Cry topped the charts in Poland and Ukraine as well as other European countries, and featured a video shot in Kyiv – is to deliver the song that will showcase this summer’s much awaited UEFA European Championship to the world. The 29-year-old not only won the audience award at the prestigious 2009 Sopot song contest, she also participated in the Polish version of the popular Dancing with the Stars television show. Presenter on the German/French Arte TV channel, she was introduced to UEFA by the Embassy of Music. Oceana connects black to white, funk to soul, modern soul to jazz and pop. Her new song will be released ahead of UEFA EURO 2012. “I’m looking forward to the EURO 2012 championships and am so happy to be part of this amazing event! I love football a

The official ball EURO 2012

The official ball for UEFA EURO 2012 is the adidas Tango 12, the fourth incarnation of the iconic Tango ball used at three previous finals. The adidas Tango 12 – the 11th official adidas EURO ball – was unveiled at the draw for the final tournament in Kyiv in December by Ukrainian Olympic legend Serhiy Bubka. It includes a coloured outline based on the Polish and Ukrainian flags and is a modern interpretation of the classic design. The Tangoinspired designs used at earlier tournaments were the 1980 Tango River Plate, the 1984 Tango Mundial and the 1988 Tango Europa. Developed over a two-year period and tested by players of all abilities in eight countries, the adidas Tango 12 will be used for the first time in a competitive international when Poland get the tournament under way against Greece in Warsaw on 8 June. Shortly after the draw, every association taking part in the summer tournament received an allocation of 30 adidas Tango 12 balls for training and match use.

The accommodation prices for Euro 2012 in Ukraine have skyrocketed

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