Keeping your eye on the ball in the US
Switzerland and Austria are marking Euro 2008 in the United States with a plethora of events, primarily in Washington, Los Angeles and New York.
To give their compatriots a taste of the European footballfest, which kicks off on Saturday at St Jacob’s Park stadium in Basel, Swiss and Austrian organisations have organised a list of activities.
The high-pressure opening game between Switzerland and the Czech Republic will be shown live in New York’s Central Park, at the Swiss embassy in Washington and at the Goethe Institute in Los Angeles, along with the other 30 games.
It’s true that European football hasn’t been making headlines every day in the US, but nevertheless a lively interest is being taken in the events across the pond – and not only among the countless Europeans and football-crazy Latin Americans.
On Saturday morning a children’s football tournament is taking place in Washington. It has been organised by DC Stoddert, the largest youth football organisation in the city, with around 5,000 members.
The programme then moves to the Swiss embassy, where emotional fans will be served Swiss delicacies.
“The level of interest is enormous – we’ve had around 400 people wanting to come,” Emilija Georgieva, head of communication at the embassy, told swissinfo. “And many of those are American, not Swiss. We’re overwhelmed and looking forward to a wonderful occasion.”
The embassy also plans to show the match between Switzerland and Portugal on June 15. To watch the final, being held in Vienna on June 29, fans will have to move to the Austrian embassy.
Cultural connection
New Yorkers can head to Central Park to see the opening match. This event was organised by the Swiss consulate and Swiss Roots in association with the park authorities and the sports network ESPN.
It’s not easy to predict how many people will come. “We’re hoping for a great day and many people,” said Lukas Fitze from the Swiss consulate.
ESPN is broadcasting all of Euro 2008, so matches can also be followed in bars and restaurants across the country.
In New York at the end of May an exhibition called Bread and Soccer was opened at the Austrian Cultural Forum. It runs until September 13 and deals with art, football and mass events.
Another event at the Austrian Cultural Forum is the film programme Eleven Minutes, which brings together short films from Switzerland and Austria shot specifically for Euro 2008. The films can be seen on June 11, 12, 18 and 19.
Alpine United
Lovers of the beautiful game are also being catered for at the United Nations headquarters in New York. In the corner of the Delegate’s Lounge a small Euro area has been installed with two screens.
The UN took care of setting up the corner, which was paid for by the Swiss and Austrian missions to the UN.
In Los Angeles the first Euro-related event took place back on Sunday, when a team of Swiss and Austrian ex-pats (Alpine United) took on a team from Hollywood (yes, Hollywood United), which was made up of actors and musicians including Anthony LaPaglia and Ziggy Marley and former US footballer Alexi Lalas.
“Alpine United lost,” admitted Brigitta Schoch Dettweiler at the Swiss consulate in Los Angeles, but that didn’t spoil the fun. “There was a really great atmosphere here and around 700 spectators.”
Incidentally, both Alpine United goals were scored by Austrians.
swissinfo, Rita Emch in New York
Swiss living in the US in 2007, according to consular districts:
New York: 19,422
San Francisco: 16,379
Los Angeles: 13,209
Atlanta: 13,203
Chicago: 7,873
Washington: 3,932
Switzerland is co-hosting the Euro 2008 football tournament with Austria from June 7-29.
The two countries were chosen to host the third-biggest sporting event in the world – and the biggest in Swiss history – on December 12, 2002.
The 31 games will be played in four cities in Switzerland (Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich) and four cities in Austria (Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Vienna). The final will be held in Vienna on June 29. Switzerland will play its three group matches in Basel.
The finals will be broadcast in 170 countries and are expected to be watched by about eight billion cumulative TV viewers.
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