EURO 2008 INFO

The UEFA European Football Championship 2008 will take place in the following eight stadiums between June 7 and 29. The matches in Austria will be played in Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg and Klagenfurt, while the hosting cities in Switzerland are Basle, Berne, Geneva and Zurich. The opening game will be held in Basle, with the final awarded to Vienna by the European Football Association, UEFA.

Vienna

Vienna is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primate city; with a population of about 1.6 million (2.2 million within the metro area), Vienna is by far the largest city in Austria as well as its cultural, economic and political centre. Vienna lies in the south-eastern corner of Central Europe and is close to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

Salzburg

Salzburg is a city in western Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg (population 520,000 in 2003). Located on the banks of the Salzach river, at the northern boundary of the Alps, the mountains to Salzburg's south contrast with the rolling plains to the north. The closest alpine peak – the 1972 m Untersberg – is only a few kilometers from the city center. The Altstadt, or "old town", is dominated by its baroque towers and many churches. This area is surrounded by two smaller mountains, the Mönchsberg and Kapuzinerberg. The city is approximately 150 km east of Munich, Germany, and 300 km west of Vienna.

Klagenfurt

Klagenfurt, is the capital of the federal state of Carinthia, in Austria, on the Glan river. First settled in the 12th century, it currently has a population of approximately 90,000. Around 10% of Carinthian Slovenes reside in Klagenfurt. It is a popular vacation spot with mountains to both the south and north, numerous parks and a series of 23 castles on its outskirts.

Innsbruck

Innsbruck is a city in western Austria, and the capital of the federal state of Tyrol. It is located in the Inn valley at the junction with the Wipptal which provides access to the Brennerpass, just about 30 km south of Innsbruck. Located in the broad valley between tall mountains, the Nordkette in the north, Patscherkofel and Serles in the south, it is an internationally renowned winter sports centre.

Basel

Basel is Switzerland's third most populous city (166,563 inhabitants (2004); 690,000 inhabitants in the conurbationand Switzerland's second-largest urban area as of 2003). Located in north-west Switzerland on the river Rhine, Basel functions as a major industrial centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. The city borders both Germany and France. The Basel region, culturally extending into German Baden and French Alsace, reflects the heritage of its three states in the modern Latin name: "Regio TriRhena".

Berne

Bern lies in the Swiss plateau part of the Canton of Bern, somewhat west of the center of Switzerland. The landscape around Bern was formed by glaciers in the last ice age. The two mountains closest to Bern are the Gurten with a height of 858 meters and the Bantiger with a height of 947 meters. The site of the old observatory in Bern is the origin (600 000/200 000) of the CH1903 coordinate system, its international coordinates are 46°57'08.66?N, 7°26'22.50?E. The city was originally built on a peninsula engulfed by the river Aare but outgrew the natural boundaries of the river in the 19th century.

Geneva

Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland, Zurich being the first, and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). Geneva is situated where Lake Geneva flows into the Rhone River, and it is the capital of the Canton of Geneva. The population within the city is 185,526 and that of the metropolitan area is about 700,000. Geneva is widely regarded as a global city, mainly due to the presence of numerous international organisations, including the European headquarters of the United Nations.

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland (population of urban area: 1,091,732) and capital of the canton of Zurich. The metropolitan population is around 1.3 million. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre, and is widely considered to be one of the world's global cities. The origin of the name is probably the Celtic word Turus, a corroborating reference to which was found on a tomb inscription dating from the Roman occupation in the 2nd century; The antique name of the town in its romanized form was Turicum.