EURO mascot road show: Kharkiv

The two UEFA EURO 2012 mascots continued their road show on Friday and Saturday in Kharkiv - their third Ukrainian stop after Lviv and Donetsk.

On Friday the as-yet-unnamed twins were welcomed by Ukrainian tournament director Markiyan Lubkivskyi, Kharkiv mayor Gennadiy Kernes, regional vice-governor Yuriy Sapronov, General Consul of Poland Republic in Kharkiv Ian Granat, as well as Ian Borden, McDonald's Ukraine general director, before being paraded along the streets of the city.

They also helped to anoint the first goalkeeper of the Ukrainian national team, Igor Kutepov, as a new Friend of UEFA EURO 2012. Later they were warmly received by hundreds of orphans and other children in McDonald's restaurant during the charity breakfast and took part in photo sessions.

The following day, the mascots attended the Ukrainian Premier League match between FC Metalist Kharkiv and FC Metalurh Donetsk at the local UEFA EURO 2012 arena, entertained young footballers of Metalist's academy and opened the traditional pre-New Year youth football tournament.

"I was very pleased to see all these smiling faces of Kharkiv citizens when they took photos with the EURO 2012 mascots or met them on the streets during the road show," said director of Kharkiv, UEFA EURO 2012 department, Viktor Khrystoyev. "I saw delight and joy in people's eyes, which means the upcoming tournament makes the whole city tick."

Kyiv will be the next stop on the road show, which ends in Warsaw on 4 December when the mascots' names will be announced.

Naming the mascots
Fans in Poland and Ukraine have been choosing their favourite sets of names for the UEFA EURO 2012 mascots. You can have your say via UEFA.com before the deadline of 3 December, choosing from the following options:
Slavek & Slavko
Siemko & Strimko
Klemek & Ladko

Road show schedule
28-29 November - Kyiv
29 November - Gdansk
4 December - Warsaw (mascots' names revealed)

View the original article here

EURO mascot road show: Wroclaw

Wroclaw was the latest stop in the UEFA EURO 2012 mascots' tour of the eight host cities on Friday.

The agenda in the Polish city started in the morning with a visit to Orbita indoor hall, where the as-yet-unnamed twin mascots watched children compete in sport competitions and a UEFA EURO 2012 quiz. The participants also had a lesson in supporting teams during matches and gave a rousing reception to the mascots.

At noon the mascots went on a city tour and visited key places in Wroclaw, including the under-construction stadium, the Stulecie arena and the iconic Grunwaldzki Bridge, which appears on the Wroclaw UEFA EURO 2012 logo. They posed for photos while the hundreds of attendees had the chance to compete in a contest, the winners awarded a glass replica of the new stadium.

In the evening festivities continued at the Old Market Square, where Wroclaw's famous Christmas market was opened. The mascots posed for more photos with a public delighted to welcome them to their city.

Wroclaw was the fourth of eight stops on the road show which ends in Warsaw on 4 December, when the mascots' names will be announced.

Naming the mascots
Fans in Poland and Ukraine have been choosing their favourite sets of names for the UEFA EURO 2012 mascots. You can have your say via UEFA.com before the deadline of 12.00CET next Friday, choosing from the following options:
Slavek & Slavko
Siemko & Strimko
Klemek & Ladko

Road show schedule
26-27 November – Kharkiv
28-29 November – Kyiv
29 November – Gdansk
4 December – Warsaw (mascots names revealed)

View the original article here

EURO mascot road show: Poznan

The newly unveiled UEFA EURO 2012 mascots spent Thursday visiting Poznan in the first of their tours of the cities hosting the tournament.

After their presentation at Poland's friendly match against the Ivory Coast on Wednesday, the twin mascots toured the city in a bus decorated with children's paintings.

Fittingly they stopped first at four schools before appearing at the city's Old Market Square, where they were welcomed by a crowd of children. In the afternoon the tour took in the children's hospital, airport and Municipal Stadium, the first Polish venue completed for UEFA EURO 2012.

The day's festivities included the nomination of Andrzej Maleszka, a director of theatre performances and films for youngsters, as Poznan's local UEFA EURO 2012 ambassador. Speaking in front of the City Hall, Maleszka, a football fan, said: "I believe that the European Championship will not only be just a number of matches. I hope it will be a real inspiration for children to play football themselves as well."

Poznan is the first of eight stops on the road show which ends in Warsaw on 4 December, when the mascots' names will be announced.

Naming the mascots
Fans in Poland and Ukraine have been choosing their favourite sets of names for the UEFA EURO 2012 mascots. You can have your say via UEFA.com before the deadline of 3 December, choosing from the following options:

• Slavek & Slavko
• Siemko & Strimko
• Klemek & Ladko

Road show schedule
20-21 November – Lviv
23-24 November – Donetsk
25 November – Wroclaw
26-27 November – Kharkiv
28-29 November – Kyiv
29 November – Gdansk
4 December – Warsaw (mascots names revealed)

View the original article here