In addition to the sporting action, spectators in the stadiums at UEFA EURO 2008™ can expect additional entertainment throughout the tournament.

In addition to the sporting action, spectators in the stadiums at UEFA EURO 2008™ can expect additional entertainment throughout the tournament. With an opening ceremony before the first match, a closing ceremony before the final and an extensive programme in between, the organisers aim to turn the tournament into a real football festival. The concepts are agreed and the contracts awarded.

The opening ceremony will take place on 7 June, just before the Swiss and Czech national teams line up on the pitch. The 13-minute show will put the hosts in the spotlight. Around 1,000 performers are to draw on characteristic features of the two host countries and give them a creative, modern twist. There will be no shortage of yodelors and alphorns as Austria and Switzerland open their arms to the world of football.

The closing ceremony will be held just before the final kicks off and will last about ten minutes. In contrast to the opening ceremony, the focus will be on football and the 16 participating nations. The official tournament song will be played live and 400 performers will get the fans involved as they look back on the tournament highs and lows. Both the opening and closing ceremonies were put together by French event agency Auditoire, whose artistic director, Martin Arnaud, staged the opening ceremony for the 1998 FIFA World Cup as well as the opening and closing of the Paralympics in 2004.

On the initiative of UEFA President, Michel Platini, and for the first time since 1996, the trophy will be presented to the newly crowned European champions not on the pitch, but in the VIP Tribune and the presentation will be enhanced by unique special effects. Uniplan Switzerland from Basel is the company responsible for the trophy-presentation concept.

The spectators’ warm-up programme is not limited to the first and last matches: there will be an entertainment programme for all 31 Euro matches to get spectators in the stadiums in the right mood. The entertainment programme will make the countdown to each kick-off a special experience for the spectators. As soon as the stadium doors open, a DJ together with 3 speakers around the pitch will cheer up the fans for the three hours until the match. The fans, their love of football and their emotions are the themes at the heart of the programme. The pre-match highlight will be a 40-strong group of gymnasts, whose acrobatics show will accompany the teams’ entrance onto the pitch and culminate in a depiction of the tournament logo.