The UEFA President Michel Platini expressed his admiration for Ukraine’s preparation to host EURO 2012 championship. Platini, together with the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych participated in the opening ceremony of the new international terminal at the Lviv Danylo Halytskyi airport.
“It is astounding what a small football can do. What has been done in Ukraine is amazing,” said UEFA President in Lviv. He stressed that no matter how people might feel about football, modern infrastructure was introduced in Ukraine thanks to the sports. “I am sure that in three weeks’ time the atmosphere in Lviv will be wonderful. You [Ukraine] have managed to reach most of the goals. It wasn’t easy, but it will be wonderful,” said Platini. The president of Ukraine expressed his hopes that the European football championship EURO 2012 would be held in Ukraine on a high level, and that Ukraine’s national football team would demonstrate good football.
The new up-to-date international terminal at the Lviv airport boasts the capacity of about 2,100 passengers per hour. The lighting of the terminal was provided by the global leader in lighting solutions Philips: a total of 58 types of lighting technology, including advanced LED devices, illuminate the facade, the interior and the surrounding area of the terminal. Currently, the main task Lviv city administration is facing prior to hosting the championship is building modern infrastructure around the airport. Ukraine’s biggest and most up-to-date airports were modernized in the four host cities for EURO 2012: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Lviv. All the four airports will become fully operational in the current year.
Along with new airports, Ukraine has built and modernized four football stadiums. Kyiv’s Olimpiyskyi, second largest stadium in Eastern Europe, can host up to 70,050 fans. The newly build Arena Lviv was named “the most comfortable stadium for fans among EURO 2012 venues” by UEFA officials. Kharkiv’s Metalist became known as a “spider”: the roof of the stadium is supported by 24 towers resembling the tentacles of a spider. Thanks to massive support the roof can withstand an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0. Opened in 2009, Donetsk’s Donbass Arena became known as the first elite stadium in Eastern Europe.
