Kyiv Olympic Stadium is Top Euro 2012 Venue - Bleacher Report

KYIV, Ukraine, April 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

American digital sports media network Bleacher Report  ranked the Ukrainian EURO 2012 facility - National Sports Complex Olimpiyskyi  in Kyiv - the best stadium of the eight hosting the event. The National Stadium in Warsaw took the second spot, while the Donbass Arena  in eastern Ukrainian Donetsk was rated third best.

Besides EURO 2012 final on July 1, 2012, Olimpiyskyi will host three matches of the Swedish team - with England, France, and Ukraine, as well as the match between the winner of the Group D (features England, France, Sweden, Ukraine)and the runner up of the Group C (Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Spain).

Bleacher Report notes that Olimpiyskyi is the second largest stadium in Eastern Europe. The venue can host up to 70,050 fans. The stadium opened after the grand renovation in late 2011.

Olimpiyskyi's history goes back to 1923. Having originally been named Red and later - Republican, the venue took its current name from the Summer Olympic Games it hosted in 1980.

The renewed stadium has been equipped with most recent technological advancements: fire-resistant seats, transparent ultra-light membrane roof with teflon coating, as well as two largest LED screens in Ukraine: 1109 square feet, capable of rendering 4,4 trillion colors.

As of now, Olimpiyskyi has the largest LED screen among those featured at sports arenas across the country.

Curiously, the seats in Olimpiyskyi are exactly same as ones installed at London's Wembley and Olympic stadiums, as well as Soccer City Stadium in South African Johannesburg, informs 2012.football.ua.

Moreover, all materials used to reconstruct Olimpiyskyi were certified in Ukraine and Europe as safe and harmless. Thus, main EURO 2012 stadium is not only large and technologically advanced, it's also green.

The design of the stadium in Kyiv features the colors of the Ukrainian national flag - blue and yellow. The shades stand for the blue sky above the vast endless fields of wheat - a landscape, quite characteristic for Ukraine.

The National Stadium in Poland's capital also features two-color panels to mimic the Polish flag - white and red two-color piece. Opened in 2012, the stadium in Warsaw will host EURO 2012 semifinal on June 26, 2012. The venue can contain the audience of 58,500.