The Ukrainian government is set to ink a deal to fast-track construction of 20 hotels to meet the accommodation needs of co-hosting the Euro 2012 championships.
Borys Kolesnikov, the deputy prime minister overseeing Euro 2012 preparations, said the cabinet will sign a memorandum with a hotel chain to build 30 hotels in Ukraine in three years – 20 before the tournament kicks off in two years time, according to Ukrainian media reports. Kolesnikov also noted that the government was scrutinising a number of reserve options to get hotels built ahead of the championships, reported NRCU radio. Political dignitaries at the ceremony included vice premier Borys Kolesnikov. «Kiev has a huge football tradition. This city gave the world two great players, namely European footballers of the year Oleg Blokhin and Andriy Shevchenko,» he told UEFA.com. Euro 2012 will feature 16 teams competing in a total of 31 matches in the month-long tournament. The opening match is scheduled to take place in Warsaw on June 8 with the final at Kiev’s Olympic Stadium on July 1. Around 1.4 million fans are expected to attend matches which will be broadcast live in more than 200 territories around the world. Last week, UEFA approved Kiev as the city for the Euro 2012 final following months of concerns over stadium delays. Kharkiv in Ukraine became the first of the eight Euro 2012 host cities to unveil its official logo and tournament flowerbed. Kiev, venue for the final, unveiled its own 2012 symbol and flowerbed, featuring the Euro 2012 flower emblem, in the heart of the city close to the Golden Gate.