Geneva open gateway to ground

Eleven days before the start of UEFA EURO 2008™, Geneva has inaugurated its 'Footbridge of Sports' aiding the route for pedestrians and cyclists between Bachet-de-Pesay tram and bus stop and Stade de Genève.

Ease of access
The 185-metre wooden bridge will allow for safe and easy movement for up to 30,000 spectators to the city's stadium, which will stage the Group A fixtures between Portugal and Turkey on 7 June, Czech Republic v Portugal on 11 June and Turkey v Czech Republic four days after that. The bridge was planned in the late 1990s before the construction of the stadium and Switzerland's successful bid to host the European Championship along with Austria in 2002.

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Future events
Geneva's authorities were delighted with the bridge's opening, which they hope relieve some of the traffic in the region's public highways during the tournament. The construction of the bridge also improves the city's hopes of hosting further events following UEFA EURO 2008™.

Innsbruck flying the EURO flag

Austrian host city Innsbruck is distributing 5,000 flags to residents to add colour to its buildings and streets ahead of UEFA EURO 2008™.

Free of charge
The flags, which display the official tournament livery, can be collected free of charge until the end of the month. Innsbruck ambassador Hansi Müller, who handed out the first batch in tandem with organising committee chairman Dr Christoph Platzgummer, said: "The EURO flag is a great welcome sign to our guests. You can see that Innsbruck has prepared itself well and that the people are getting increasingly excited about EURO."

Additional flights
Fans of Spain, Sweden and Russia will descend on the western city for Group D fixtures next month, while the Czech Republic will train in Tirol and use Innsbruck as a departure airport for matches in Switzerland. An additional 270 flights are expected in June to meet demand, and organisers are confident things will run smoothly.

Speedy checks
Private security guards will work in tandem with local police to ensure passengers pass through checks as quickly as possibly, while a newly-built equipment store will be kept open all night on matchdays and used as a temporary waiting point as a night flying ban will remain in place during EURO. National teams and high-ranking state visitors will be the exception to this rule, however.

Infopoints
When fans arrive in Innsbruck they may benefit from the 14 Infopoints dotted around the city, where specially trained volunteers will be on hand to answer questions from 12.00CET until 19.00. They will provide comprehensive information on issues such as transport, Fan Zones and the entertainment programme. There will be Infopoints dotted around the city centre, as well as at the airport, Fan Zone and the fan camp.

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Music acts
Innsbruck will also be offering a top-class music programme for those attending the tournament. Although the football is the main attraction, residents and visitors alike will be kept entertained by various artists on the Fan Zone stage. Among those performing are Christina Stürmer, Juli, Rednex, Smokie, Sportfreunde Stiller, Revolverheld, Liquido and local act Reinhard Fendrich.

Basel begins constructing Fan Zones

With just over a fortnight remaining before UEFA EURO 2008™ kicks off, work to assemble the public viewing area and Fan Zone has started in Basel.

Large changesThe supporting frame for the 60m² video screen has been installed, with the giant screen to go up on 2 June. Further construction, such as the covering of grass areas and erecting of temporary facilities, will be completed in the coming days. The work will be conducted at night in order to keep disruption of traffic to a minimum.

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Klagenfurt out in numbers for Tour

The EURO Experience Tour proved to be a huge success during its four-day stop in Klagenfurt, attracting 9,000 visitors between 3 and 6 April.

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'Total success'
"The EURO Experience Tour in Klagenfurt was a total success for us," declared UEFA EURO 2008™ tournament director Christian Schmölzer. Fans flocked to the world's largest inflatable tent to have their photo taken next to the Henri Delaunay trophy and watch a film of the past tournaments. The EURO Experience Tour is getting fans in the mood for UEFA EURO 2008™ and will be visiting 13 cities in Austria and Switzerland, including all eight host cities, before the tournament kicks off on 7 June. The next stop is Salzburg and the EURO Experience Tour will in town between 10 and 16 April.