Warsaw, 8 June 2011 ONE YEAR BEFORE UEFA EURO 2012 TM THE STATE OF PLAY IN WARSAW S PREPARATIONS The Capital City s preparations for UEFA EURO 2012 TM have entered their decisive phase one year before the kick-off of the tournament most of the investments are in progress, while many have been completed. Despite the limitations enforced by the crisis, the cost of projects implemented in Warsaw by central, city, and provincial institutions will amount to a total of PLN 17 billion, of which about 40 city investments connected with the preparations will cost about PLN 6 billion. THE MOST IMPORTANT INVESTMENTS IN WARSAW THE NATIONAL STADIUM The construction of the National Stadium, managed by Narodowe Centrum Sportu (The National Sports Centre) is nearing its end. The contractor is the Alpine PBG SA Hydrobudowa Polska SA consortium. The installation of the roof and the finishing works are in progress. The stadium will accommodate 58 thousand spectators. The surroundings of the National Stadium are changing. The redevelopment of Wybrzeże Szczecińskie Street near the stadium, which is a joint investment by the City and the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, is almost finished. Last year the authorities closed down the marketplace in the stadium area. The city prepared and handed over a new marketplace, with its first stage already completed, at Marywilska Street. A decision has also been made to relocate the Warsaw Stadium bus station into the area of the Warszawa Wschodnia (East Warsaw) Railway Station funds have been secured. The relocation will take place in the spring of 2012. THE AIRPORT
Warsaw Chopin Airport has already met all the requirements connected with the organisation of Euro 2012. Terminal 2 was opened in 2008. PP Porty Lotnicze is implementing an investment programme involving the completion of the integration works in Terminal 1 and 2, and the modernisation of runways, parking aprons and roads. Final acceptance procedures are being carried out on the construction of the south pier and the middle pier, which connect the two parts of the terminal. The modernisation of runways will be finished in the autumn. The construction of a new airport has been launched in Modlin. It will be ready by mid- 2012 and will serve about 1.8 million passengers a year (mainly cheap flights and charters). THE AIRPORT CONNECTION The connection between the airport, the city centre and the stadium is provided by train. From autumn 2009 the Polish State Railways (PKP) are carrying out the construction of a 2-kilometre section connecting the station next to the terminal of Chopin Airport with the already-modernised railway line. The connection will be handed over in early 2012. The rolling stock to service the new line has been purchased by the Fast Urban Railway (SKM). The supply of 13 state-of-the-art train sets is scheduled to begin in mid-2011. These will be the longest single-space electrical train sets operated in Poland; they will serve up to 900 passengers. The vehicles will be equipped with air conditioning and monitoring systems, and will be adapted to the needs of people with limited motor capabilities. In April SKM also signed an agreement for the purchase of another 6 train sets to serve the S2 and S9 lines. STATIONS The redevelopment of Warsaw s stations has been launched. The works in Warszawa Gdańska junction are nearing completion (new platforms, shelters, and an underpass with a connection to the nearby underground station). The redevelopment of Warszawa Wschodnia (East Warsaw) Station and a thorough renovation of Warszawa
Centralna (Central Warsaw) Station, as well as the rebuilding of the PKP Stadium stop, are in progress. ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE In January 2011 the first 10-kilometre fragment of the Warsaw ring road, under construction by GDDKiA, was opened the section of the S-8 expressway Konotopa- Powązkowska. From autumn 2009 GDDKiA is also constructing the sections of the S8 expressway Modlińska Street Marki, and the S79 and S2 roads in the section from the Airport Junction to Puławska Street. In autumn 2010 the construction of the S2 section to the Airport junction to the junction in Konotopa was launched. Overall, 37 km of the new ring road will be completed by EURO 2012. At the junction in Konotopa the express ring road of Warsaw will connect to the A-2 motorway. The construction of its final 92-km section - Stryków to Konotopa junction - has been in progress since September 2010 and will provide connection to the Capital City in May 2012. Since October 2010 the big Marsa junction on the Siekierkowski bridge route is already passable. Before EURO 2012 the construction of another two big communication junctions the North Bridge route over the Vistula and the 3-level junction Al. Jerozolimskie Łopuszańska. In recent years, the City has also modernised Poleczki Street leading to Chopin Airport and a section of Modlińska Street, the next section of which in the area of the Żerań Channel is almost finished. Last year the streets near the National Stadium in Saska Kępa Francuska and Paryska were also redeveloped. PUBLIC TRANSPORT Warsaw is gradually procuring state-of-the-art low-floor trams of the Swing type there are currently about 50 of them on the city s tracks. Out of 186 trams commissioned in the Bydgoszcz PESA plant, 120 will be supplied before EURO 2012.
A rapid redevelopment of the rolling stock of Warsaw buses is in progress. Currently, during the weekends all lines are served by low-floor vehicles. Before EURO, the Ikarus buses in use will disappear from the streets of Warsaw, replaced by state-ofthe art low-floor buses; in the years 2007-2012 a total of over 1000 vehicles will be replaced. For the purposes of the National Stadium, the most important facility will be the three tram lines; the existing rolling stock already allows 65 thousand people to get to the stadium. The first line, running from the southern side of the stadium along al. Jerozolimskie to the Washington Roundabout, was redeveloped (along with the Poniatowski Bridge) in the years 2006-2008. In 2009 the W-Z tram line, running from the northern side of the stadium was also modernised. This year will feature the redevelopment of the route from the Wileński Station to the Washington Roundabout. SAFETY The Safety Centre For the Capital City of Warsaw is nearing completion in the modernised building at 43/45 Młynarska Street. The Centre will house an Emergency Communication Centre operating the 112 emergency number, being a component of the national emergency notification system, and the Integrated Coordination and Response Centre, which will manage security in Warsaw during the Tournament. It will also house the Monitoring System Operation Centre and Warsaw s City Guard, as well as the Crisis Management and Safety Department. Over PLN 40 million was used to build the centre. The Warsaw City Office has also extended the urban surveillance camera system in order to ensure the supervision of the central fan zone (the area is covered by 13 surveillance cameras and 4 webcams), the paths leading to it and the direct vicinity of the zone (an additional 16 surveillance cameras). The recent extension of the surveillance camera system has resulted in better coverage of the urban space. 3 618 surveillance cameras are already in operation, including 395 City surveillance cameras, 285 Underground surveillance cameras,104 cameras run
by the City Roads Authority, which are constantly running, 2442 cameras in buses and trams, and 234 cameras in the trains of SKM. Between 2008 and 2010 the Warsaw City Office transferred to the Capital City Police Headquarters and to the City Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Warsaw a large store of equipment to be used directly and indirectly in the organisation of EURO 2012, inter alia, a mobile surveillance centre and two mobile police stations, pyrotechnic examination equipment and the most state-of-the-art motorboat in Europe for the purposes of the River Police Station. MEDICAL CARE Warsaw will provide fans and participants with good medical care in 39 public hospitals there are 14 thousand beds. The city spending PLN 200 million modernised the 5 biggest city hospitals to serve EURO 2012. Modernisation works were completed in the Bielański, Grochowski, Praski, and Czerniakowski hospitals. The funds for the necessary redevelopment of the Bródnowski Provincial Hospital, to be the referential hospital for the stadium, will be provided by the Local Government of the Province. Works are also being carried out there. Intensive preparations for emergency team training have already started and training is scheduled for May-June of this year. VOLUNTARY SERVICE In Warsaw alone about 1000 volunteers will be helping supporters in airports, railway stations, streets of Host Cities, in the fan zone, in medical care centres, and in the city multimedia centre. Volunteers will also support residents, ensuring that they are also aware of current city life during the Tournament. The recruitment of volunteers is due to start in October 2011. WHAT WILL WARSAW OFFER TO FANS? Warsaw is getting prepared to receive on matchdays up to 150 thousand fans from this country and abroad; on other days there will be about 30-50 thousand visitors. In late November 2010, the City Office submitted to UEFA the Host City concept,
outlining the principles of fan zone organisation, the promotion programme, and decorations. The selected location for the Warsaw Fan Zone is Defilad Square around the Palace of Culture and Science the very heart of the city centre. It has all the necessary infrastructure allowing the organisation of a Zone for over 100 thousand spectators, and a City Media Centre. For the entire duration of the Tournament, football, sporting emotions and great, unforgettable fun will be the most important things in the zone. The City will provide accommodation for the so-called UEFA family and fans. Warsaw has nearly 33 thousand beds, including 22 thousand in hotels. The entire Masovia region provides a further 26 thousand, including 9 thousand in hotels. The city also supports the organisation of a tent fancamp for 5 thousand people by one of the sponsors of EURO 2012. The fans who come to EURO 2012 will also be given the opportunity to take advantage of the accommodation base in the neighbouring Łódzkie and Lubelskie Provinces. Within 2hours driving distance from Warsaw there will be over 80 thousand beds available. For fans to feel comfortable and secure in Warsaw, the concepts of safety and medical care during the event, as well as of transport services and city promotion, have been prepared (along with an initial plan for traffic organisation near the National Stadium). A joint concept of voluntary service was prepared along with other Host Cities and PL2012. There will be more than ten social campaigns related to EURO 2012 addressed at fans and sports circles educational and improving the city aesthetics, especially in the Praga district. HOW DO VARSOVIANS SEE THE PREPARATIONS? Most of the residents of the Capital City (74%) believe that Warsaw will succeed in preparing for EURO 2012. Opposite opinions on this subject are expressed by one in seven Varsovians (15%). Every tenth person (11%) has no opinion. These are the results of the representative Barometr Warszawski survey, which was conducted for
the Warsaw City Office by the Public Opinion Research Centre (CBOS) and PBS DGA in December 2010. The level of interest expressed by Varsovians in the state of the preparations for EURO 2012 has not changed dramatically over the last 6 months, i.e. on average, half the respondents declared that they are following the subject. The last survey shows that this kind of subject matter enjoys greater popularity among men than women 65% of men and 39% of women admit that they are interested in the organisation of the Tournament. Information on the survey The Barometr Warszawski survey was carried out by computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) on the commission of the Warsaw City Office by the Public Opinion Research Centre (CBOS) and PBS DGA in December 2010. 1100 interviews were carried out on a representative (in terms of sex, age, and district) group of Warsaw residents of the age of 15 and higher. The maximum measurement error for this size of sample equals +/- 3.0%.