Glasgow unveils EURO 2020 host city logo
Tuesday 25 October 2016
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Glasgow's glowing pride and passion shone through as the Scottish city – a football hotbed with an outstanding history in the game – revealed its UEFA EURO 2020 host city logo.
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The proud football history of Scotland and Glasgow came to the fore as the city unveiled its host city logo for UEFA EURO 2020 on Tuesday.
In a ceremony at the Glasgow Science Centre, dignitaries joined the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and special guest, coaching legend Sir Alex Ferguson, in celebrating the start of an adventure that will see Glasgow's venerable Hampden Park stage three group matches and a round of 16 encounter in four years' time.
Glasgow is one of 13 cities that will play host to matches at UEFA EURO 2020 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the championship. The football hotbed joins London, Rome, Baku and Bucharest in having revealed their host city logos, and ceremonies are scheduled to take place in the remaining cities – Amsterdam, Bilbao, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Munich and St Petersburg – in the weeks to come.
The UEFA EURO 2020 visual identity sees each of the 13 city logos feature a single iconic bridge from the city in question – acting as a symbol of connection between the various venues. Glasgow's logo incorporates the impressive Clyde Arc which spans the River Clyde.
In a message to Glasgow, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin underlined the widely-held view that UEFA EURO 2020 would be "a unique and memorable tournament in a variety of different ways."
"What better way could there be to celebrate football," he added, "than to take the EURO final tournament for one single occasion to all four corners of the continent?"
History and passion were two of the themes cited by the SFA's chief executive Stewart Regan, who explained that the fabric of football was inextricably linked to Glasgow, Scotland and Hampden Park.
"People make Glasgow and Glasgow will make EURO 2020," he reflected. "Now as a UEFA EURO 2020 host city venue, Hampden Park will welcome new heroes to Glasgow and help create the next chapter in the long and illustrious history of our game."
The stadium hosted the classic 1960 European Cup final which saw Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3, and was the setting in 2002 for a wonder goal by Zinédine Zidane that gave Madrid UEFA Champions League success in the final against Bayer Leverkusen.
"Glasgow enjoys a proud reputation as one of the world's great footballing cities," said Glasgow city council leader Frank McAveety. "The 'Hampden Roar' is legendary among visiting football fans from every nation. As a city, we recognise the value of football and major sporting events."
"This is a unique opportunity for Glasgow and Scotland to host matches as part of this prestigious championship," added the Scottish government's secretary for culture, tourism and external affairs, Fiona Hyslop. "It is likely to have a significant economic impact, not just for Glasgow, but for Scotland as a whole."
"I was fortunate enough to play on that famous Hampden Park pitch as a young player, to watch the legendary Real Madrid side that came to Glasgow in 1960, and can look back fondly at cup final successes there as manager of Aberdeen," said Sir Alex. "I look forward to Hampden being a key part of a historic UEFA EURO 2020."