The Basle region - combining cantons Basle-Stadt and Basle-Landschaft and boasting 450'000 inhabitants - is one of the four Swiss host cities for UEFA EURO 2008™, alongside Berne, Zurich and Geneva. It will also have the honour of staging the opening game. Governing councillors Christoph Eymann (Basle-Town) and Urs Wüthrich-Pelloli (Basle-Country) have extended a warm greeting to all, exclusively on euro2008.com.
We are very proud to be the main UEFA EURO 2008â„¢ venue in Switzerland and are delighted to play host to the numerous visitors from within Switzerland and abroad. It is our goal that all football fans who come to Basle will return home with a positive impression of the time they spent here, whether or not they have witnessed the sporting success of their team at the St. Jakob-Park Stadium.
To host the third-largest sporting event in the world and the largest ever to have taken place in Switzerland is a great honour but also a big challenge at the same time. All those involved in the organisation have long been excited about the preparation which is at an advanced stage; specialist teams have been set up step-by-step in all relevant sectors, financial decisions have been taken and co-operations have been established on different levels. For the remaining 500 days we are very much committed to pushing ahead with preparation and helping to make UEFA EURO 2008â„¢ an unforgettable event.
Following the fantastic FIFA World Cup with our neighbours and friends in Germany, and given that the region of Basle has the most passionate fans in Switzerland, the anticipation is already very apparent. The people in Basle are looking forward to celebrating a great football party.