Marseille marks one year to go until EURO 2016
Monday, June 15, 2015
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Basile Boli and Olympic gold medallist Florent Manaudou were named ambassadors as Marseille marked in style one year until their first match of UEFA EURO 2016.
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Olympique de Marseille great Basile Boli and Olympic gold medallist Florent Manaudou were at the heart of the celebrations as Marseille marked in style one year to go until their first match of UEFA EURO 2016.
"The people of Marseille will get together, unite and be as one, with that party spirit and taste for sharing everything we are famous for!" That was the message from city mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin – flanked by newly appointed city ambassadors Boli and swimmer Manaudou – as he kicked off the one-year countdown to the first of six games in the Mediterranean port, including a quarter-final and a semi-final.
The Vieux-Port was the focal point for Monday's activities. With the sun beating down, the Espace Bargemon was transformed into a mini-stadium for football freestylers to showcase their skills. There were treasure hunts there and around the Stade Vélodrome, with UEFA EURO match tickets on offer for the winners. UEFA EURO 2016 mascot Super Victor, of course, was on hand to pose for photographs.
A film directed by Guillaume Panariello and titled Welcome to Marseille, Land of Passion has raised public enthusiasm for next summer's finals, and Manaudou and Boli both said it was an honour to be named city ambassadors for the event. "I agreed to become a EURO 2016 ambassador to pay back this city for the love it has given me," said Manaudou.
Boli, scorer of OM's winning goal in the 1993 UEFA Champions League final, added: "I could not turn down the offer to be the ambassador for this generous and cosmopolitan city."
Marseille's Prado beach will host the fan zone during the finals, with some 80,000 fans expected to join the party. "During EURO 2016, Marseille will be the second stadium in terms of capacity, the second city in terms of duration [23 days from first game to last], the second venue in terms of number of matches," said Max Bouchet-Virette, EURO 2016 SAS administrative manager.
"A recent study from the Centre of the Law and Economics in Sport in Limoges estimated that the direct economic benefit for the city would be about €182m."