I don’t pretend to know anything about football, but the criticism of Austria and Switzerland’s preparations for Euro 2008 looks to be misguided, if Zürich is a representative example.
I’ve been there since yesterday – for reasons which I won’t mention in case I jinx something – and the whole place has seemingly been transformed. The Limmatquai, the main street which runs along the river, has been turned into a fan mile, with a carnival atmosphere and all sorts of scrumptious food. There’s a lot of live music going on and a huge Fan Zone has been set up at the botttom of the street. A lot of the local shops have special Euro 2008 lines and window displays, and the Euro seems to be accepted as an ersatz currency (though I think that’s the case for most touristy areas here anyway). And fans are being given free public transport throughout Switzerland and Austria on match days as part of their match tickets.
There were reports that Scotland was on hand to take over should Switzerland fail to prepare sufficiently. Unless Zürich is an anomalous example then I can’t take these reports as anything more than UEFA grandstanding (ho ho ho).
On a separate note, my passport was checked while entering Ireland from the UK on the way here. What gives, Common Travel Area?