UBS Arena
The UBS Arena was 16 public viewing arenas in Switzerland that were set up in just as many Swiss cities during the 2008 European Football Championship and together made up “the fifth Swiss stadium for UEFA EURO 2008”.
The initiative for this came from the Swiss Confederation. The aim was for all Swiss and their international guests to have the opportunity to experience UEFA EURO 2008 ™.
The 16 cities were Aarau , Biel / Bienne , Buchs SG , Chur , Glarus , Kreuzlingen , La Chaux-de-Fonds , Lausanne , Locarno , Lugano , Nyon , Sitten , Solothurn , St. Gallen , Thun and Zug .
Originally, the UBS Arena was planned with 17 cities, including Winterthur . With the privately organized and financed arena in Winterthur, the city would have had to provide services for water, sewage and electricity as well as for cleaning, security and traffic in the amount of 665,000 francs, which it would have advanced as a loan. The PdA had submitted a referendum against this loan, which required a referendum. In this case, the loan was refused, so the organization of a UBS arena in Winterthur did not materialize.
The 16 public viewing arenas offered more than just live broadcasts of the UEFA EURO 2008 matches : fans from all over the world were also presented their own TV program. On every match day, multilingual presenters greeted the audience live from one of the 16 arenas. The program featured live interviews, news updates, background coverage and portraits. In addition, a supporting program with live concerts, games and competitions was offered in each arena, as well as restaurants and bars, a sports shop, etc. The core of the arenas, however, were the 37 to 53 m² LED video walls on which the games were shown live .
The UBS Arena was organized by the Biel-based company «Perron8 Management». The title sponsor was the major Swiss bank UBS . Each arena offered 1,200 seats and, depending on the city, 3,000 to 9,000 standing places.
The UBS Arena made it possible for almost one million visitors throughout Switzerland to attend a football festival during UEFA EURO 2008. In addition, well over 100 bands from all over Switzerland created a good atmosphere on the arena stages before the match broadcasts.
The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) were the official transport partner of the UBS Arena during the UEFA EURO 2008 and also offered a special range of tickets.
