Simferopol, April 24 – More than 20,000 German fans will visit Ukraine to attend the Euro 2012 European Football Championship, German Ambassador to Ukraine Hans-Jurgen Heimsoeth has said.
"According to a report from the local organizing committee of the championship, no other country has bought as many tickets as Germany," the ambassador said at a press conference on April 23, following the opening of the Honorary Consulate of Germany in Simferopol.
"I think that more than 20,000 fans have bought tickets, and it’s quite possible that this number will increase," he said.
"In addition, many people that did not buy the tickets, but want to feel the atmosphere of the competition, visit the fan areas and recall the feelings they had during the previous championships, could also come [to Ukraine]," the German diplomat said.
When asked by Interfax-Ukraine whether reports on overpriced rooms at Ukrainian hotels in the European press could affect the number of fans, Heimsoeth noted that the cases with overpriced accommodation "are really sorrowful."
"It should be noted that prices double during every championship. Here the prices grew by much more than two times. I hope that Ukraine will be prepared for the championship so that its guests could feel good and not think that somebody wants to make a fortune out of them," the ambassador said.
