Euro 2008 Venues

Euro 2008 will be held in four cities in Switzerland and four cities in Austria. Let's take a quick look around the various cities and stadiums that will be hosting the matches. We start things off in Basel, scene of the opening game.

SWITZERLAND

Matches will be played at St Jakob-Park, capacity 42,500. It was opened in 2001 and replaces St Jakob Stadium which was located at the same location. It is the home stadium of FC Basel. It will play host to three first-round games (including the opening game), two quarterfinals and one semifinals.

Berne is the capital of Switzerland, a gorgeous town with a great deal of medieval architecture still preserved. Most impressive is the Zytglogge, a 13th century tower in the heart of the old city. It is a primarily German-speaking area and in addition to being the national capital is the capital of the canton of Berne. 

Matches will be played at the Stade de Suisse, built on the location of the former Wankdorf stadium, located in the Wankdorf district of the city. It has a capacity of 32,000 and is normally used by Swiss League side Young Boys Bern. It will host three first round matches.

Geneva, Genève in French, is the only city in the French-speaking part of the country (Romandy) to be hosting matches for Euro 2008. It is located in the far southwest corner of the country on the banks of Lake Geneva. It is home to a number of international organizations, such as the United Nations and the Red Cross. The lakeside setting is as beautiful as any in the world.

Euro 2008 matches will take place at the Stade Genève, opened in 2003 to replace the old Stade de Charmilles. It has space for 30,000 fans and is home to Servette, currently toiling in the Swiss second division. Three group stage matches will be held here.

Zurich (Zürich in German) is the fourth of Switzerland's four host cities. It is the largest city in the country with a population of just over one million. It is located in the north center of the country along Lake Zürich. German is the language of the city and region, though a long history of immigration makes for a diverse and polyglot population. If you're looking for some serious damage to your credit card, the Bahnhofstrasse shopping district will certainly fit the bill. And speaking of organizations with more money than they know what to do with, Zurich is the headquarters of FIFA.

The Letzigrund, home of FC Zürich, will be the scene of the three group stage matches in Euro 2008. It holds just over 30,000 fans. It is also plays host to the Weltklasse Zürich, an important annual athletics event.

Innsbruck is located in the west of Austria, in the heart of the Alps and two-time hosts of the Winter Olympics. In the midst of the snow and skiing some football does get played, and FC Wacker Innsbruck have won the Austrian championship 10 times, by far the most successful of any provincial club. It is the capital of the Austrian state of Tyrol and is easily the most important city of the general Tyrol region. The scenery, as you can imagine, is spectacular - Alpine mountain views abound.

Three group stage matches will take place at the Tivoli-Neu stadium, expanded to 30,000 for the tournament. It is normally the home of the green and black of FC Wacker Innsbruck and replaces the older Tivoli stadium, once located nearby.

Klagenfurt is the smallest of the host cities (the metro area totals under 100,000 people) and a rather surprising venue for such a major tournament. it is located in south of Austria, in Carinthia, very close to both the Italian and Slovenian borders. If the nearby mountains don't interest you (and really, why are you in Klagenfurt if they don't?) the old city has quite a number of beautifully preserved buildings.

The Hypo-Arena (capacity 32,000) will be the scene of three group matches at Euro 2008. It is the home of Austria Kärnten, created in 2007 after the franchise of FC Superfund Pasching was transferred to Klagenfurt. They're not to be confused with FC Kärnten, currently in the Austrian Second Division, who were themselves once known as Austria Klagenfurt. If you're wondering Kärnten is the German version of Carinthia.

Salzburg is located in the north of Austria and is the fourth-largest city in the country. It has tourist and cultural locations galore - the scene of The Sound of Music, birthplace of Mozart, an entire old town listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, excellent skiing within an easy drive and more castles, parks and gardens than you could ever visit. And I'm quite certain I'm just scratching the surface. Honestly after doing some research on Salzburg I wonder why in the world I've never visited!

The Stadion Salzburg Wals-Seizenheim (aka EM-Stadion) has recently been expanded to seat 30,000 fans and is actually located in the town of Wals-Seizenheim, south of Salzburg. When not hosting the three Euro 2008 matches this summer it is the home of Red Bull Salzburg.

Vienna (or Wien in German), the last of the eight cities featured here, is the largest of any of the host cities and will stage the tournament final on June 29th. It is located in the northeast of Austria, not far from the Slovakian border and its capital Bratislava. Famous for its cafés, its long prominence in the political and cultural history of Central Europe, its elegant parks and castles, Vienna is a tourist mecca. In one of those parks, the Prater, lies the Riesenrad, an enormous ferris wheel featured so prominently in the film noir masterpiece The Third Man among others.

Also located in the Prater is Ernst Happel Stadion, formerly known as the Prater Stadion. With a capacity of just over 50,000 it will play host to 6 matches, including all of Austria's group stage matches and three knockout round matches including the final. It has played host to a number of important matches over the years, including four European Cup or Champions League finals. 

Photo Credits:
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