Aerial view of the Olympic stadium in Kiev.
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A poster with the Euro 2012 logo can be seen at the Airport Lawica in Poznan, Poland.
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A scuffle between pro-presidential and oppositional factions in the parliament session hall in Kiev, Ukraine.
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Catholic priests join Jewish and Muslim clergy to bless the football pitch in the new National Stadium in Warsaw.
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Riot police take part in a drill to prevent violence among hooligans before Euro 2012.
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Left: a giant poster depicting Poland's national team striker Robert Lewandowski. Right: Ukrainian fans rally for a limit on the number of foreign players in Ukrainian football clubs.
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Supporters of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko take part in a rally in a tent camp in central Kiev.
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The Euro 2012 twin mascots - one wearing Ukraine's national blue and yellow colours, the other Poland's white and red - walk with miners in the Kalinin coal mine in the industrial Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
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People in Warsaw watch a ball displayed during a fountain and light show dedicated to Euro 2012.
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Riot policemen block supporters of different opposition parties in front of the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev on November 3, 2011.
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An aerial view shows downtown Warsaw and the River Vistula with the Swietokrzyski Bridge.
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A policeman guards a camp of Yulia Tymoshenko supporters as Ukrainian Communist Party activists march in Kiev to mark May Day.
AFP
Visitors leave the newly reconstructed Olympiyskiy Stadium after the opening ceremony in Kiev on October 8, 2011.
AFP
Security guards detain a Femen women's rights activist as she protests against Euro 2012 in Ukraine.
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A view of the National Stadium in Warsaw ahead of Euro 2012.
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The Euro 2012 football championship is seen by many as a chance for co-host countries Poland and Ukraine to put on a good show before the world’s media.
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But while Polish stadiums and airports sparkle, in Ukraine, brawling politicians and topless protestors are painting the country in a less flattering light.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
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Ukraine’s political scandal overshadows Euro 2012
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No members of the Swiss cabinet will attend matches in Ukraine, but Switzerland is not officially joining the boycott by some European governments of the matches to be played in the country that is co-hosting the tournament with Poland. The boycott is in protest of the treatment of Ukraine’s imprisoned former Prime Minister. Although Switzerland…
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Officials from Uefa and other international sports federations meeting recently in the Swiss city of Neuchâtel said they were confident Euro 2012 would not be tainted. But some experts say they are “blind” to the realities. Europe’s football body monitors millions of football bets placed with 300-400 legal operators via a so-called early-warning system to…
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