"We have shown that we are able to organise a large event" - that was the positive conclusion drawn by the chairman of the EURO Organising Committee, Manfred Pock last week.
All concepts of the Organising Committee proved to be successful, and the largest event ever held in Carinthia went by peacefully and without any major incidents. A fact that needs to be noted despite all the catcalls. Pock very rightly underlined that it was not the task of the city and the Organising Committee to ensure profits for the caterers or to attract tourists and fans to the region - their task was the management of the European Football Championship matches from an athletic and logistical point of view. A total of 500,000 visitors came to Klagenfurt and Carinthia to enjoy the matches and the party mood.

No-show of Germans
As far as guests from Poland and Croatia are concerned, the Organising Committee's forecasts, based on information from UEFA, proved to be correct. "On the days of the matches, there were even more people from these countries than expected", Pock said. It was fans from Croatia in particular who exceeded the estimated figures by far. On the days when Croatia played, the city of Klagenfurt was turned into a white and red chequered sea of colours. The number of German fans was smaller than anticipated; more had been expected because of the dedicated marketing activities.

Screen competition
The excess offer of public viewing opportunities was counter-productive according to the OC. In addition to the beer tent in Europapark, there were four other screens and a total of 30 public viewing areas throughout Carinthia. "They only served as a stage for politics", Pock said, but because of the excess offer, fans from Carinthia did not go to Klagenfurt.

Stadium concept
The organisation of the EURO in and around the stadium received special praise from UEFA. Visitors were thrilled about the sensational atmosphere. Just one funny example to illustrate the excellent organisation: On the day of the first match, when Germany played Poland, the call centre received a call from a neighbour of the stadium at 6:00 pm who asked if the match had been cancelled because there were no disturbances whatsoever. Two hours later the stadium was packed with more than 30,000 people.

Public transport concept ran smoothly
"The proportion of public transport was very high; the number of passengers doubled on match days", said Fernandez de Retana, who also stressed the successful waste disposal concept.

Fan Zones
A lot was said about doldrums in the Fan Zones, not everything was correct. The Fan Zone in Neuer Platz was packed with people on each day of the matches; and the Fan Zone on the Exhibition Grounds was also successful on match days. All in all, more than 220,000 visitors were counted in the Fan Zones and on the Fan Mile. Caterers achieved a turnover of about 1.3 million euros; only 20 of the 90 caterers closed their stalls early. Everybody agreed that "this was the same in the other host cities, too."


Photo: Stadtpresse/Burgstaller