September 21 – British pop star Sting rocked a crowd of nearly 30,000 people in Poznan, central Poland, in a concert that opened the country’s first stadium to be ready for Euro 2012.
Sting appeared with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra as part of a tour promoting his new album Symphonicity – an album of past hits rearranged and backed by the orchestra.
City officials have said the concert will be their first test of how to manage local traffic and seek improvements in preparation for Euro 2012, which Poland is co-hosting with Ukraine.
The 43,000-seat stadium is the first of four in Poland that will host the games.
Poland’s other three stadiums are to open by July 2011 in the Baltic seaport of Gdansk, the capital Warsaw and the south-western city of Wroclaw.
The stadium in Poznan has an elite ranking – the highest given by UEFA – and boasts concert hall-quality speakers and two of Poland’s largest video screens.
“On 630 days before the inauguration of the tournament, we have a ready venue, which must be tested and perfected,” said Marcin Herra, head of the Pl.2012 company in charge of readying Poland for the games.
Poland and Ukraine have both struggled in preparing to host the event.
A report last month showed Poland was ready with stadiums but was running behind in building roads and local transport needed for crowds of fans.