The capital is receiving a huge number of foreign tourists in a welcoming and friendly way, according to Information Centre Ukraine-2012. In particular, the number of foreigners who came to Kyiv in their own vehicles has increased 2.2 times.
This was said during a press conference at the Information Centre Ukraine-2012 by KCSA chairman Oleksandr Popov. He said that the first few days of the fan zones showed that Euro-2012 in Kyiv had been a success.
This is shown eloquently by the number of visitors coming to the fan zone. "Tens of thousands of visitors came on the first days of its work on Khreshchatyk. On the day of the first match, Ukraine-Sweden, over 100,000 fans came to the fan zone, and over 140,000 visitors were recorded as being present during the showing of the game between the teams of Ukraine and France! This surpassed all expectations of the city and even UEFA’s”, the official stressed.
“And this fact shows that our fan zone is interesting and comfortable for visitors," he added.
The city authority, taking into account such popularity, has decided that on the days of the semi-final and final matches the fan zone will extend to Bessarabska Ploscha (square). "The last game with the national team showed that more and more fans are visiting the fan zone with every match. On 15 June we even had to limit entry to the fan zone for some time to avoid overcrowding. We recognize that the final and final matches of the fans will increase several fold, so it was decided to expand the boundaries of the zone", said Oleksandr Popov.
The official assured that the safety of fans will continue to be a priority for the city government: "this issue is a priority for us. After all, with so many people that it holds – and at the same time representatives of the various ‘football religions, who are emotional and excited - it is very important to maintain a calm atmosphere".
The head of the KCSA said that in the 10 days of the Euro tournament not a single serious incident that would violate the security of visitors has been recorded.
