Flower power illuminates Ukraine

Following the launch of the UEFA EURO 2012 logo in Kyiv, supporters in Donetsk, Kharkhiv and Lviv braved freezing temperatures to get a taste of what is to come as the Ukrainian host cities looked ahead to the final tournament in two summers' time.

The logo and the accompanying slogan, 'Creating History Together', were unveiled in a ceremony at Kyiv's Mykhailivska Square on Monday 14 December, and two days later the focus of the Ukrainian festivities was Donetsk, where citizens braved snow and biting winds to see the EURO bloom projected on to the walls of the Anatoliy Solovyanenko Opera and Ballet Theatre.

City Mayor Olexandr Lukyanchenko was delighted to see the enthusiasm of local people, noting: "I see smiles and happiness in your faces." Local tournament director Markiian Lubkivskyi told the crowd: "I'm sure you will remember the tournament and the preceding events for the rest of your lives."

Few who attended the logo launch at Kharkhiv's Svoboda Square – the third largest square in Europe – will forget the exciting atmosphere as the logo was projected on to the massive building housing the Nadra Bank. Some 5,000 locals turned up on 18 December to witness the event, with Mayor Mykhaylo Dobkin saying: "Kharkiv is welcoming a big football celebration. I am proud of our city and I invite everyone to come and celebrate with us in 2012."

Mayor Dobkin then handed students from Boiko School a ball which had been given to him by Michel Platini as a thank you for the letters they had sent to the UEFA President entreating him to confirm Kharkiv as a UEFA EURO 2012 host city.

The final celebration took place in Lviv on Monday, with the Lviv Theater Voskresinnya presenting scenes from Romeo and Juliet against a backdrop of a fireworks display before the logo lit up the city's Opera Krushelnytska. Lviv's Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said he was delighted by the emblem, which was designed by the Lisbon-based Brandia Central agency.

"The work of Portuguese designers deeply impressed everyone," he said. "The two flower buds representing the co-hosts and a central ball have a common root, and in the same way football and the European championship will bring Ukraine and Poland together."