EURO 2008 INFO

Not always easy for tourists visiting Berne to make themselves understood in English. In a hundred days, Euro 2008 is going to double and even triple the crowd in the federal capital. However, the linguistic preparation is minimized.

If 66% of Swiss alémaniques say could have a conversation in English with 43% of Romands, according to a study representative of the Federal Office of Statistics (OFS), these figures should be interpreted with caution. The difference between town and country is not taken into account, "says Jean-Christophe Zuchuat, of the SFO.

Nevertheless, in a hundred days, on June 7, 2008, will be kicked off the European Championship on the lawn in Switzerland and Austria. The third biggest sporting event in the world will attract 400? 000 to 500? 000 visitors in the host cities of Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich, Switzerland Tourism believes.

The federal capital, which hosted in June 2007 over 35? 000 foreign tourists, will see double, maybe even triple, the crowd at the three matches it will be hosting. The English language skills of the Bernese will be more than ever tested. However, an update in depth is not envisaged.

Awareness Campaign
The campaign preparation for Euro 2008 Berne Tourism entitled "Welcome to Bern" provides an awareness of the many languages of the teams that will play in Bern, said Eliane Krebs, head of the project. However, it is limited to the distribution of a spreadsheet summarizing the key phrases host Dutch, french, Italian and Romanian. The campaign will target companies that will benefit from direct contact with supporters, as public transport, taxis and hotels.