Acquiring a ticket for a match at this summer’s European Championship finals is not an easy task for mere mortals, and those in possession of one should rightfully consider themselves lucky.
But as any fan would tell you, football is not just about what goes on the pitch, but the atmosphere off it as well. And big tournaments like this one usually deliver on their promise of good time, even if you do not have a ticket.
Getting to Austria or Switzerland from Bulgaria is ridiculously easy these days. In addition to the charter bus trips, organised by tourist agencies, bus companies travel the route regularly, with one-way tickets costing about 100 leva (180 leva for a round-trip). If you book your tickets early enough and carefully pick the dates on which you travel, you can get there using one of the many low-cost airlines for a similar amount, or just a touch more. Once there, getting around is just as easy and both the Austrian (http://oebb.at/euro2008/en) and Swiss (http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/euro08/euro08-fahrausweise.htm) railways offer discounts on tickets and passes for the duration of the tournament.
Next step – accommodation. Neither of the two host countries are lacking in this department and are not expected to experience major shortages of rooms, even with tens of thousands of people descending on game night. Hostels are also an option, with hostelworld.com offering a large choice of budget accommodations, while http://euroom08.ch is dedicated specifically to finding private and cheap accommodation during the tournament.
For the thousands looking to submerge themselves in the atmosphere of Euro 2008, but who do not have match tickets, Uefa is setting up official fan zones in each of the cities that will host matches, with no entrance fees, where games will be broadcast live on giant screens. Additional information on each area can be found on http://euro2008.uefa.com. Some of these are just as impressive as the stadiums themselves – in Zurich, the area will be able to hold 45 000 and one of the three screens will be built to float over Lake Zurich, while in Innsbruck you will be able to watch the matches inside a ski-jumping arena. Although security is unlikely to be as much of an issue as on the grounds, these are regulated areas and Uefa has warned that any objects deemed a “potential threat to public safety – umbrellas, fireworks, items that could be used as projectiles and especially weapons” will be confiscated. Security overall has been, understandably, beefed up. Still, it is only common sense to stay out of the trouble that might brew up between supporters of rival teams, such as Germany and Poland, who play each other in Klagenfurt on June 8.
Should any problems of a more peaceful, if vexing nature, arise along the way, particularly concerning consumer rights, a special phone helpline has been set up by the European Commission and Uefa, which can be reached free of charge from any EU country at +800 6789 1011 from 9am to 6.30pm Central European time on weekdays. This does not cover issues such as legal rights, lost property or ticket problems, in which case the police or Uefa should be contacted, nor does it cover Switzerland, where the number is +322 299 9696, subject to normal phone charges.
Once there, you may feel tempted to sample some of the other attractions either of the two host countries have on offer. The tourism boards of Austria (http://austria.info/xxl/_site/en/_area/668146/euro2008.html) and Switzerland (http://myswitzerland.com/en.cfm/euro08) offer suggestions of places to see to while away the time in between football matches.
And if you spend some time in Vienna, take some time to sample the sachertorte (pronounced almost like “soccer”, though not quite) and pick a free guide, which will be distributed around the city to teach you how to properly order food and beer, find your way around, and even flirt with the locals using the Viennese dialect.
