Swiss host cities satisfied with Women’s European Championship

Host cities very satisfied with the Women's European Championship Keystone-SDA

The European Women's Football Championship in Switzerland has been a success so far. The eight host cities draw a very positive balance of the first week of the tournament.

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The stadiums are well filled. Around 600,000 tickets have been sold so far. This means that the record for the entire European Championship 2022 in England has already been broken.

The atmosphere is exuberant and peaceful, as assured by all the cities and police stations surveyed. The fan zones are almost always well attended, also thanks to the good weather.

‘Women’s football on the rise’

This does not surprise Bernese blogger Laura Lüdi. “Women’s football is booming and the tournament in Switzerland is benefiting from it.” Lüdi, who has toured the country since the tournament began, also praises the work of the venues.

The blogger noted that, on the one hand, many more advertisements of European Championship sponsors are visible in the centres than in the past – another expression of the boom.

On the other hand, influencers are spreading many tranquil pictures with blue skies and mountains in the background, especially from Sion and Thun. The tourism industry will be pleased.

Swimming and cheering

The eight host cities are happy, as shown by a Keystone-ATS round-up. Geneva’s events manager Frédéric Hohl, for example, is enthusiastic about the fan zone by the lake, where people can swim and watch the games at the same time.

For the first match, there were twice as many people in the stadium as for an average Servette match.

In Sion, public viewing is entrusted to the catering establishments, which gratefully accepted the offer. In Thun, the organisers were surprised that the streets were clean even after the first fan march. In Lucerne, public viewing is so popular that a larger screen is being erected.

On Wednesday, the city of Zurich experienced its first moment of glory with the visit of the festive Dutch fans. The fans have already coloured Lucerne orange and caused a sensation with their ‘Naar-links-naar-rechts’ (leftward, rightward) dance.

St Gallen hopes that the Welsh fans will stay in the city for more days, as their team will play two matches at the Kybunpark.

Footballer traffic light

In Bern, the ferris wheel on the federal square will serve as a temporary landmark for Euro 2025. The fan march ahead of Switzerland-Iceland was the highlight of the event so far: with an official attendance of 14,000, it was the largest gathering ever recorded at a women’s European Championship.

Sometimes it is above all small details that have a big impact. The female footballer who lights up green at the pedestrian traffic lights in Basel turned out to be a secret social media star.

The European Women’s Football Championship runs until Sunday, July 27. The final will be held in Basel.

Translated from Italian by DeepL/mga

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