You're reading: Mayors of Euro 2012 host cities note Ukraine’s benefits from football championship

Ukraine's benefits from hosting the Euro 2012 European Football Championship are of a strategic nature, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy has said in an expert survey by the Gorshenin Institute entitled "Euro 2012: Results." 

“All of the media in the world were writing quite negative reports about Ukraine over the last few months before Euro 2012, and then false information about racism and persecution appeared. In fact, we have never had any problems at this level. Euro 2012 is the best promotion of our state. Promotion means investment, the arrival of capital and the creation of new jobs,” he said.

In addition, in his opinion, Euro 2012 host cities received practical benefits.

“New jobs, direct and indirect revenues to the city budget – each fan spent on average EUR 100-120 during his or her stay in Lviv,” Sadovy said.

He said that the city’s current positive image was opening up good prospects.

“The prospects that are opening up before us will remain only under one condition – if we are together and if we continue to develop the city together – both the city community and the government. We are already talking about preparations for EuroBasket and the Olympic Hope [project]. I’m sure that we will hold these events in an ever better way than Euro 2012,” he said.

Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes, in turn, said that no one believed that over a short time it was possible to achieve the results that Ukraine achieved while preparing for and holding Euro 2012.

“Ukraine and Poland as countries co-hosting Euro 2012 did something that was praised by the whole of Europe, UEFA, [UEFA President] Michel Platini and everybody who visited Ukraine and Poland,” he said.

Kernes said that first and foremost, the public benefited from the championship in Ukraine.

“We created the conditions of European standards and, first and foremost, Ukrainian citizens benefited from this, because we are reviving the country and reviving confidence that together we can achieve such positive results. The main thing is that we learned to work in such difficult economic and financial conditions, and in conditions of public-private partnership,” he said.

At the same time, he noted that Ukraine’s achievements had not gone unnoticed by the international community.

“In a short time all of the terms and all of the requirements will be met, and a respective assessment will be made for all of us. As Michel Platini said: ‘It’s fantastic.’ This shows once again that Ukraine is a European country, and that it has great potential,” he said.

Donetsk Mayor Oleksandr Lukianchenko, in turn, said that the success of Donetsk in holding the championship was the result of many years of hard work.

“Euro 2012 was not only five games played in Donetsk, but also four years of fruitful work. More than 60 km of roads were built and reconstructed, the public transport fleet (100 new trolleybuses and 40 buses) was updated, and medical facilities were repaired,” he said.

In addition, Lukianchenko said that Donetsk had commissioned a new airport terminal with a capacity of 3,100 passengers per hour and a new runway that has the highest category of safety and capable of accepting all types of aircraft.