By David Gold
June 5 – The Opening Ceremony of the UEFA 2012 European Championship in Warsaw’s National Stadium on Friday (June 8) will bring culture and sport together, claims the company putting on the event, Filmmaster.
The 12-minute performance, a combination of heritage and innovation, will begin 20 minutes before the 6pm CET kick-off time for the tournament’s opening match between co-hosts Poland and Greece.
Filmmaster promises to reflect the culture of the host nations, Poland and Ukraine, as well as promoting the values of the European Championship: unity, rivalry and passion.
Award-winning Hungarian classical pianist Ádám György (pictured below) will perform an étude – a musical composition – from famed Polish composer Frédéric Chopin during the ceremony in the 58,500-capacity stadium (pictured top).
The 30-year-old recently performed a concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and is himself a huge football fan and a former member of the Hungarian national futsal team.
Mass choreographies featuring over 800 volunteers from 63 countries will also be a key part of the Opening Ceremony, which is expected to attract over 150 million television viewers globally.
Renowned ceremonies and events producer Marco Balich, who was responsible for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics and Paralympics, has created the spectacular.
The Italian was also the guiding light behind for the Opening Ceremony of the Donbass Arena, the home of leading Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, in 2009.
He is also producing the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics ceremonies beginning with the flag handover from London 2012.
This year’s 14th European Championship finals tournament is the first staged in Eastern Europe in the competition’s 52-year history.
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