TheEuro2020is the 16thUEFA European Championship.It takes place every four yearsand isorganized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Thesoccercompetition was originally scheduled forJune 12toJuly 12, 2020. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournamentwas delayed for a wholeyear and has begunonJune 11and will end onJuly 11, 2021.
TheWembley Stadium in London is set to host the Semi-Finals and the Finalsince it has thehighest capacity of all of the stadiums. The Stadio Olimpico in Rome has been selected as the opening venue. The tournament was originally meant to have 13 host venues, but two of them werelater removed – Brussels, and Dublin.
As a result, itwill be held in11 cities in 11 differentcountries:Amsterdam, Baku, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Glasgow, London, Munich, Rome, Seville, and Saint Petersburg. When it comes to fan attendance, it’s rather straightforward how the structure would work.As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the stadiums will not be atfull capacity. Let’s take a look atthe 11 host cities and the host stadiums.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Amsterdam is a tourist paradise and the world’s bicycle capital, with around 17 million visitors a year, all for a great reason.
The Rijksmuseum is the crowning diamond in a cultural crown brimming with them. There are 1,500 bridges crisscrossing the canals. Amsterdam also boasts a lot of green space for such a tiny city, and the bustling Leidseplein has a lot of bars bordering the plaza.
Built in 1996, the Amsterdam Arena was Europe’s first stadium with a sliding roof. In 2018, it was renamed Johan Cruijff ArenA in memory of Ajax’s former player and coach, who was born in Amsterdam and died in March 2016.
Baku, Azerbaijan
Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is the lowest capital in the world (28m below sea level) and is commonly referred to as the “City of Winds.” The prosperity of Baku comes from the oil exported since the nineteenth century. Baku has ultra-modern architecture, yet by visiting the walled Old Town, Icheri Sheher, you can sense what it was before the oil industry. The Maiden Tower and Palace of Shirvanshahs is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The 2019 UEFA Europa League Final took place at theBaku Olympic Stadium where Chelsea defeated London’s arch-rivals Arsenal. It is home to the National Team of Azerbaijan.
Bucharest, Romania
Before a large communist-era makeover, Bucharest was called “Micul Paris” (Little Paris) during 1918–47. The towering Palatul Parlamentului of Bucharest and Piata Revolutiei (Revolution Square), provide a glimpse into the city’s complex 20th century. Bucharest National Arena sits on the location of the previous national stadium.
The greatest showcase for the new stadium was the 2012 UEFA Europa League final, in which Atletico Madrid defeated Athletic Club Bilbao 3-0. Romania didn’tqualifyfor Euro 2020, but will still be home to three Group C and one last 16 matches in their national stadium. The Arena Nationala in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, is the host stadium of Steaua Bucuresti and the Romanian National Team.
Budapest, Hungary
The capital city of Hungary has been formed with the union of Buda and Obuda on the west bank of the Danube with Pest on the east,gave the world Ferenc Puskas and many other Magical Magyarsof the 1950s. It contains 80 geothermal springs and the world’s largest thermal water cave system.
The newest stadium in Budapest, Puskas Arena is named after its most renowned football player,Frenc Puskasand is home to the National Hungarian Team.The Hungarian capital is the only one to confirm that the games would be held at full capacity, with rigorous entrance criteria. The 1-km-long Castle Hill is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to several of the main attractions, including Trinity Square, Matthias, and Fisherman’s Bastion.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen isregarded asone of the happiest towns in the world and is cycling-friendly,with more than half of the city’s residents riding a bike every day. The Øresund Bridge, made famous by the Nordic crime thriller The Bridge, connects it to Malmo, Sweden. The Tivoli Gardens amusement park, located a few minutes from Central Station, features unique architecture, ancient buildings, beautiful gardens, and nostalgic rides, and is especially lovely at night.
The Parken Stadium, which seats slightly over 38,000 people, is Denmark’s largest football stadium and the home of FC Copenhagen as well as the senior men’s national team. It hosted the European Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1994 and the UEFA Cup final six years later, with arsenal featuring in both.
Glasgow, Scotland
The ‘dear green spot,’ Scotland’s largest city and the third-largest in the United Kingdom, hosted the first international football game, Scotland 0-0 England, in 1872. It is around 70 kilometers from Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh. The City Chambers in central George Square are an excellent representation of Glasgow’s riches and prominence when it was the second city of the British Empire, while the Botanic Gardens are located in the Victorian Kelvingrove Park in the city’s west.
From 1908 to 1950, Hampden Park was the world’s largest stadium, with a crowd of 149,415 for a Scotland vsEngland match in 1937. Celtic and Rangers have their own stadiums, while Hampden Park is home to the Scottish national team as well as amateur club Queens Park.
London, England
With an estimated 31.2 million tourists each year, London is the world’s most visited city. Itis a roughly 9 million-person metropolis that is home to the Queen, Charles Dickens, and punk rock. It is also the only Olympic site to have held the Games three times: in 1908, 1948, and 2012. Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Of London, Buckingham Palace, British Museum, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square – the possibilities for sightseers are infinite, yet Platform 934 of King’s Cross Station may suddenly be able to compete with them all.
Wembley Stadium, the largest stadium in the UK and home to the English Football Association, has received over 21 million people since its inauguration in 2007. The previous Empire Stadium,which opened in 1924, was famed for its twin towers; the new stadium’s visual hook is a massive arch.
Munich, Germany
Munich is home to great orchestras and museums like the three pinakotheks and Siemens, BMW, and Bavaria. Itis proud of its sense of comfort as illustrated by the legendary Oktoberfest.The Englischer Garten is larger north than New York’s Central Park from behind the University of Munich. The ancient Olympic Park, which was host to the Olympic Games in 1972, is worth a visit.
The Allianz Arena, the residence of Bayern Munich, was built for theFIFA World Cup 2006 in April 2005. It can be visible from the Austrian Alps on a clear night and seats 70,000 people for international games.
Rome, Italy
Rome,regarded as the Caput Mundi (capital of the world) and the Eternal City,is home to some of the world’s most popular tourist attractions, including the Sistine Chapel, Trevi Fountain, Castel Sant’Angelo, Foro Romano, and the Colosseum.Rome is a treasure mine of art and architectural magnificence, including the contemporary Auditorium Parco della Musica, from the Colosseum to the Vatican Museums, St Peter’s Basilica, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and the Pantheon, to mention a few.
The Stadio Olimpico in Rome, which is shared by Roma and Lazio, has undergone many renovations since it was opened in 1953. It has hosted four European Cup finals, the 1960 Olympics, the EURO 1968 and 1990 World Cup finals, as well as several Italy matches.
Saint Petersburg, Russia
St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-most populated city after Moscow, is renowned as the Venice of the North because of its network of beautiful canals and 342 bridges. It is famous for its White Nights,which are long summer evenings when the sun never fully sets.The State Hermitage Museum, which was established in 1764 by Catherine the Grand, holds more than 3 million artifacts and cultural items, of which only a part are presented in 360 rooms. It consists of five structures, the majestic Winter Palace being the most notable.
The GazpromArena, which has been home to Zenit since April 2017, hosted seven World Cup matches in 2018. Kisho Kurokawa, a Japanese architect, created the venue in the shape of a spaceship that had landed on the beaches of the Gulf of Finland.
Seville, Spain
Seville was known as Hisbaal to the Phoenicians, Hispalis to the Romans, and Ishbiliyah after the Umayyad conquest of major portions of the Iberian peninsula in the 13th century. It is the seat of the Andalusia region and Spain’s fourth-biggest city. The cityis famed for its Giralda tower and Alcazar Palace, but it also has two notable football clubs: Sevilla, which has won the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Europa League six times, and Real Betis, which plays atthe Estadio Benito Villamarin.
Estadio de La Cartuja, which was built to host the 1999 World Athletics Championships, is now the site of the Copa del Rey final and has previously hosted two Davis Cup finals in tennis, as well as concerts by Madonna, U2, Bruce Springsteen, and AC/DC.