The Euro 2012 show is over for Kharkiv and Lviv, which on June 17 hosted their last group games at the tournament.
Over
two weeks, each
city hosted three games and thousands of fans – most of whom
appeared to have a good time singing, drinking and watching their
team.
Kharkiv
was invaded by thousands of Dutch fans in their distinctive Orange
colors.
Despite their team’s lackluster performance (no wins from three
matches), the Oranje were in good spirits throughout. Two
highlights, shown on YouTube, are the performance of the Ukrainian
national anthem by several hundred Dutch fans and the lighthearted
distracting of a Kharkiv television journalist.
For the team’s final
game, 12,000 fans marched to the stadium. Some held banners reading
“Thank you, Kharkiv.”
“We feel very much at
home here, there are so many Dutch and the (local) people are very
nice and very good,” said Frank Leenaars from Amsterdam.
Some
fans from the Netherlands, Germany,
Denmark and Portugal even wore T-shirts in support of jailed former
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, calling for her to be freed.
Some
infrastructure problems remained unsolved even during the
championship.
Many roads on the way to Kharkiv as well as near
Kharkiv were still under construction when the championship had
already started, causing traffic jams and inconvenience for city
guests. High hotel and restaurant prices were another unpleasant
surprise for the guests, too.
Several
hundred miles to the west, ancient
Lviv also charmed football fans.
Crowds of German, Pourtugese and
Danish fans filled the welcoming streets of one of the most
beautiful Ukrainian cities.
Lviv
became a second home for the cheerful Danish and German fans, who
took an active part in all the city festivals and the variety of
western Ukrainian entertainments prepared for them by hospitable
locals.
Lviv
residents said foreign fans were entertaining them all the time as
well – singing, dancing and shouting slogans all over the host
city. And even despite the noise they were causing 24 hours a day it
seems like no one wanted them to leave.
“We
tried hard to be helpful for our guests. And we really enjoyed
watching how cheerful and funny they are, how they sing and dance,”
local resident Lesya Ganusyn told
Media Center Lviv 2012. “We were really proud to host the
championship. All the borders seem to be gone thanks to the Euro
2012.”
As part
of tournament preparations, Lviv
got 100 kilometers of repaired roads, a new modern terminal at Lviv
airport and a new stadium for around 35,000 spectators.
Locals
believe that such improvements will keep bringing more and more
tourists to Lviv.
Andriy Sadovuy, Lviv mayor, said the Euro 2012 European
football championship didn’t end for Lviv with the last football
match on June 17. “The city has an important task for tomorrow –
to support the Ukrainian team,” he said.
