On Saturday, Kyiv witnessed the ceremony of opening Ukraine’s main Euro-2012 arena, the renovated Olympic Stadium. Some 58,000 gathered to watch the official festivities that turned into a two-hour gala show including a dra-matized history of the establishment of the Ukrainian state, construction of the stadium, and pop star Shakira’s performance. The ceremony was marred somewhat by stage special effects setting the polyethylene enclosure of the lighting equipment on fire, but it was extinguished in several minutes.
The Day succeeded in interviewing several VIP guests to the show.
Raisa Bohatyriova, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine: “These festivities mean that Ukraine is honoring its Euro-2012 commitments.”
Andrii Shevchenko, Kyiv Dynamo (heading for the number-one VIP box where Ukraine’s two ex-presidents and the incumbent one – Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma, and Viktor Yanukovych – were already seated): “They’ve made a European stadium. I’m very impressed.” He added that this was proof that Ukrainian soccer was getting increasingly European.
Serhii Bubka, track-and-field Olympic champion, president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, told The Day after the opening ceremony: “I saw an excellent stadium,” adding that the ceremony of opening the Olympic Stadium was also useful experience for the personnel engaged in such events, and that this experience would help these people show an effective performance during the 2012 soccer matches.
Yurii Pavlenko, ex-Family and Youth Minister of Ukraine: “This signifies victory over oneself and the skeptical attitude to Ukraine as a country which is unable to build large sports facilities.” He explained that the stadium was built [renovated] by Ukrainian companies as general contractors (something few believed at the start of the project), whereas foreign companies acted as subcontractors. In other words, by opening the Olympic Stadium, Ukraine had passed its first final test before the start of Euro-2012.
Several other problems remain to be solved during the year.
“Landscaping, upgrading transport performance, and several other aspects will be finally resolved next year,” says Oleksandr Popov, head of the Kyiv City State Administration [i.e., City Mayor].
Vitali Klitschko, world boxing champion, leader of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform, says it is necessary to enlist volunteers who know foreign languages: “Ukraine has no experience of hosting an event of such scope, so the organizers are faced with very important tasks. However, I see no obstacles.” He adds that the effect of this and other such construction/renovation projects should not be assessed in financial terms. The soccer finals in Ukraine will be broadcast live to hundreds of countries. He believes this will help build Ukraine’s positive international image and will serve as this country’s calling card for every foreign tourist.
Kyiv oblast governor, Anatolii Prysiazhniuk, regards Euro-2012 as an opportunity to improve the status of this region of Ukraine. Additional job placements and a new infrastructure will serve the local residents’ good for a number of years after this sports event.
Businessman Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, another VIP guest to the stadium’s opening ceremony, told The Day after Shakira’s performance that he was convinced Ukraine could host the Winter Olympics if big business and those in power combined efforts.
