Sergeij: “The whole country is glad about the European Football Championship. This is an important step, specifically in terms of the negotiations regarding the accession to the EU. We can show that we are able to host such an event. And believe me: We can handle this definitively. We survived the breakdown of the Soviet Union; we will also survive EURO 2012. I am quite optimistic: Restaurants, hotels and also roads will be finished before the starting match in Warsaw on June 8th, 2012. But, to tell the truth, people do not think about that right now. The initiative to build the stadium didn’t come from the people but from the government and UEFA. Right now we are happy, of course, that we are a venue besides Poland and we will make the very best out of it.”
Anatolij: “I am not as optimistic as my neighbor is. I don’t believe that EURO will change anything permanently. Yes, some new stadia are being built right now. But why didn’t this happen before this event? In Germany and Great Britain people built stadia even though there is no concrete occasion to do so. Why isn’t it like that in Ukraine? Of course, for us souvenir shop owners it is an important event because we will have more tourists in June 2012. But after one month the spook will be over. I consider how much interest we will be paying for our debts then.”
Support Fair Observer
We rely on your support for our independence, diversity and quality.
For more than 10 years, Fair Observer has been free, fair and independent. No billionaire owns us, no advertisers control us. We are a reader-supported nonprofit. Unlike many other publications, we keep our content free for readers regardless of where they live or whether they can afford to pay. We have no paywalls and no ads.
In the post-truth era of fake news, echo chambers and filter bubbles, we publish a plurality of perspectives from around the world. Anyone can publish with us, but everyone goes through a rigorous editorial process. So, you get fact-checked, well-reasoned content instead of noise.
We publish 2,500+ voices from 90+ countries. We also conduct education and training programs
on subjects ranging from digital media and journalism to writing and critical thinking. This
doesn’t come cheap. Servers, editors, trainers and web developers cost
money.
Please consider supporting us on a regular basis as a recurring donor or a
sustaining member.
Will you support FO’s journalism?
We rely on your support for our independence, diversity and quality.
Comment