BERN PREPARES THIRD VIEWING SPACE FOR DUTCH INVASION AT EURO TOURNEY
June 12th, 2008
There are clear winners and losers emerging as Swiss cities and traders seek to profit from the business of co-hosting the European Championship.
Bern will set up a third giant TV screen to cope with an expected invasion of Dutch football fans later this week.
Around 25,000 people turned the federal parliament square in Switzerland’s capital into a joyous sea of orange Monday evening to watch a free public screening of the Netherlands beating Italy 3-0 at the nearby Stade de Suisse. A second broadcast in the city’s Waisenhausplatz was also packed.
Bern mayor Alexander Tschaeppaet said Wednesday that various options had been looked at to welcome the arrival of even more Dutch supporters for Friday’s game against France.
Tens of thousands of people with almost no chance of getting into the stadium are expected to descend on Bern in the hope of being part of the tournament fervour.
This is exactly what Swiss authorities were hoping for after seeing the success of public viewings in fan zones at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
City officials said they will decide Thursday where in the city centre to place the third 54 square-metre screen.
While Bern copes with Euro 2008 demand that is bigger than expected, businesses at the official camp site in Geneva say they are struggling.
Food-stall holders were meeting Wednesday to decide whether to go on strike because the promised crowds have not shown up to see matches broadcast on a big screen and free nightly concerts.
hey say they paid 36,000 Swiss francs (C$35,000) to take a restaurant pitch for three weeks at the official Fan Village, and were told by organizers to expect 20,000 visitors each day.
“If I had known, I would never have taken part,” Ma Bei, owner of a Chinese food stand, told Le Temps newspaper. “For me, it is better to close than to open and throw the food out of the window.”
Persistent rain at the campsite - known locally as Bout-du-Monde, or end of the world - has turned parts of the grounds next to the river Arve into a muddy mess.
The mood was not helped when two Polish visitors short-circuited the campsite electric supply while trying to recharge a camera.
The Geneva production company responsible for soccer-related shows has promised more publicity for the fan village, which is serviced by free shuttle buses from the 60,000-capacity fan zone closer to the city centre, and to install children’s entertainment to attract families.
In the picturesque city of Locarno near the Swiss-Italian border, traders say their usual customers are staying away during the football tournament.
Spokesman Bruno Arienti said football fans were not interested in shopping and the business situation was “almost catastrophic.”
Crowd numbers have been below capacity for public broadcasts in Locarno and 15 other medium-sized cities and towns across Switzerland - the country’s so-called “fifth stadium” after the four cities staging matches.
The arenas, sponsored by a bank and with mostly free entry, have a total capacity of 90,000 but were two-thirds full for Switzerland’s opening game on Saturday.
Seats in the covered grandstands at nine of the 16 venues have sold out for Wednesday evening, when Switzerland country plays Turkey in a match it realistically has to win to stay in the tournament.
