A recent announcement by Worldwide News Ukraine via PR Newswire revealed that foreign tourists arriving in the country for the European football championship EURO 2012 have seen nothing but a holiday of football and friendly people, despite numerous media reports that state otherwise.
The Guardian, which is the only publication cited in the report, published tourists’ views that portray Ukraine and its people in glorious colors:
“This country, from the people point of view, is one of the nicest places I’ve ever been to,” England national team supporter Peter Tolen told The Guardian. “People are friendlier than I thought they would be,” said Robbin Falkenstrom from Sweden.
Worldwide News Ukraine reported more than 20,000 fans from the Netherlands arriving in Kharkiv to watch their home team play at the Metalist stadium. The Dutch fans participated in a march through Kharkiv’s main streets and to the stadium. During the match between the Netherlands and Germany on June 13 Kharkiv fan-zone was filled to its fullest capacity of over 50,000 visitors.
Even more notably, the Worldwide News Ukraine reported that while supporting their national team, Dutch fans also support the Ukraine team, according to Vinfred Viches, the representative of the Fan Association of the Kingdom of Netherlands. “I want to tell the entire world that they have got to visit Kharkiv and Ukraine,” concluded Viches.
Netherlands is not the only country enamored with Ukraine. Swedish supporters wearing yellow and blue blend in with Ukrainian fans draped in similar colors, and French supporters also start filling Kyiv Maydan Nezalezhnosti, the Independence Square, which, according to The Guardian, “is now a giant UEFA fan-zone, with big-screens, beer tents, table football and German sausages.”
