2008 UEFA European Football Championship
The matches will take place in different stadiums in cities all over Switzerland and Austria.Switzerland
Basel
Basel is a city of culture. The University of Basel, which is was founded in 1460, is the oldest in Switzerland and still exerts a tremendous influence over the town. Visitors should stroll through the charming Old Town, as well as Marktplatz, the town center. Popular sights include the Kunstmuseum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the medieval St. Martinskirch, and the old Basel Cathedral, which contains the tomb of Erasmus.
Stadium: St. Jakob-Park
The stadium will be able to accommodate 40,000 fans. The stadium has an ultra-modern infrastructure (including solar installation on the roof of the stand), which meets all the needs of players, spectators and media representatives.
Bern
Bern is recognized as the federal capital of Switzerland. It’s also distinguished as the city in which Einstein lived when he worked out his famous theory of relativity. Popular attractions include the thirteenth century clock tower, the gothic Cathedral, the Paul Klee collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, and the four-mile covered shopping arcade, which is the largest in Europe. The city is also the home of Toblerone Chocolate.
Stadium: Stade de Suisse Wankdorf
The Stade de Suisse Wankdorf in Berne is the home of a club rich in tradition, BSC Young Boys. It’s a multifunctional football stadium with 30,000 covered seats.
Geneva
As the home of the International Red Cross and former home of the League of Nations, Geneva possesses a multicultural flair. The beautifully manicured city abounds with graceful mansions, gull-laden lakes, cosmopolitan stores, and elite restaurants. The heart of the city is called the rive gauche, which includes the old town area. Visitors should take time to stroll the quaint boutiques and galleries along the cobblestone Grand Rue. Popular sights are the Cathedrale St. Pierre, where John Calvin preached; the Reformation Monument, dedicated to leaders of the Protestant Reformation; and the Jet d’Eau, the highest fountain in Europe.
Stadium: Stade de Genève
The Stade de Genève, a modern football arena, is located at the La Praille site with 30,000 covered seats, close to the French border. The stadium was opened on 16 March 2003. The stadium has already played host to many top sporting events including the European Rugby Cup, international football matches as well as concerts.
Zurich
Zürich is the largest city in Switzerland. It’s also visually striking, with the River Limmat snaking through and the snow covered Alps looming in the background. Cultural attractions are many. Zürich boasts over two dozen museums, including the renowned Kunsthaus and the intriguing Swiss National Museum. As for distinctive architecture, check out the twin towers at Grossmünster Cathedral, as well as the seventeenth century Rathus, which is Zurich’s baroque town hall. Shoppers will want to stroll down the cosmopolitan Bahnhofstrasse. For the best dining and entertainment, take in Niederdorf, which is the historic old town in city center.
Stadium: Letzigrund Stadion
The stadium cost €66.5m, with a further €3.5m being spent on temporarily increasing the seated capacity to 30,000 for UEFA EURO 2008. It is designed in the shape of a mussel and boasts a unique buckled ramp. It also boasts a 100-metre indoor practice track, an indoor multi-use hard court, two giant screens for replays and an advanced sound system.
Austria
Innsbruck
Most of Innsbruck’s attractions are centered around the central precinct of Altstadt. Popular landmarks include Schloss Ambras, home of Ferdinand II; Hofburg, the fourteenth century Imperial Palace; and Hofkirche, which holds the tombs of Ferdinand II and Maximillian, though the latter is empty. The real attraction will always be skiing, which you can do at Tulfes, Mutters, Igls, Hungerburg and other great slopes.
Stadium: Stadion Tivoli NEU
The Stadion Tivoli NEU lies in the heart of the Tirol mountains, located to the southern part of Innsbruck between the Olympic ice stadium and the motorway. Usually comprising 15,200 covered seats, the stadium is extended for UEFA EURO 2008 to offer top-quality facilities to 30,000 fans.
Klagenfurt
The city is home to numerous internationally renowned museums and galleries which include the Museum of Modern Art, the Armorial Hall, the Diocesan Museum and various others. Minimudus, a miniature replica of the entire world, is situated on the warm water lake, Worthersee. The Hochosterwitz Castle is an imposing structure built on a high hill that can only be arrived at by an ascending spiral path which is fortified with a series of gates.
Stadium: Wörthersee Stadion
Constructed as a multifunctional stadium according to the model of the St. Jakob-Park in Basel, it is part of the Sportpark Klagenfurt and was completed in September 2007, replacing a previous arena on the site demolished in November 2006. The stadium is able to accommodate 30,000 fans.
Salzburg
As the home of Mozart and the celebrated Salzburg Festival, as well as the setting for “The Sound of Music” in 1964, Salzburg is known worldwide as a musical city. A favorite activity is The Sound of Music Tour, which takes tourists to such landmarks as the Nonnberg Convent, the Residenzplatz and the Mirabell Palace Gardens. Other popular sites include Mozartplatz, a central square featuring a statue of the composer; and Mozart’s Gerburthaus, his famous birthplace.
Stadium: Stadion Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim
The stadium was inaugurated in March 2003 with a capacity of 18,686 but has been expanded to 30,000 seats for the finals means it meets the necessary criteria for staging UEFA EURO 2008 as well as complying with the UEFA guidelines on construction of football stadia.
Vienna
As the home of the Viennese Waltz, the Vienna Boys Choir and dancing Lipizzaner horses, Vienna is indeed a musical city. The genius of composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Strauss still resonates. A range of architectural wonders and countless museums keep art and architecture at the center of Viennese life. Popular sights you can’t miss when you are in Vienna are the Baroque Schloss Schönbrunn, often called the “Versailles of Vienna”, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which is one of the world’s finest, Hofburg, which is the former Imperial Palace, and the Staatsoper, which is arguably the world’s greatest opera house. For the psychologically minded, tour the dark recesses of Freud’s old apartment.
Stadium: Ernst-Happel-Stadion
It has up to 50,000 covered seats and, after some general renovation work, now meets all the latest guidelines in terms of technology and infrastructure. The stadium is situated in the Prater, one of Vienna’s largest recreation areas, in the immediate vicinity of the Danube.
