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Brussels -- King Baudouin Stadium
Posted: Sunday June 04, 2000 06:23 PM
In contrast to the other Euro 2000 venues, the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels plays host to the Belgian national side rather than a regular domestic team. This trend will continue during Euro 2000, as Sweden squares up to the joint hosts in the tournament curtain-raiser before Belgium completes its first phase fixtures on familiar ground. The first semifinal is also scheduled to take place in Brussels on 28 June. The King Baudouin Stadium was constructed on the old site of the Heysel Stadium and boasts a 50,000 all-seater capacity after an extensive renovation in 1996. After the tragic deaths of 39 football supporters at Heysel before the 1985 European Cup Final, the stadium was used only for track and field events for a number of years as stop-gap safety improvements were made.
Ten years after the disaster, the bulldozers were finally brought in, and a new 12.5 million pound complex was built on the site of the original art-deco stadium. The reconstruction brought the site up to the required stadium safety standards with comfortable seating to replace the stone-standing terraces and a new name to dilute the infamy of the Heysel tragedy. It is the largest stadium in Belgium. With Brussels welcoming Euro 2000 to the new King Baudouin Stadium, the venue should reverberate with happier memories this summer. BrusselsThe capital of Belgium is also the unofficial capital of Europe, as it is the headquarters of the European Union. Brussels is famous for both the big and small -- tourists flock to the Grand Place while also jockeying for photographs of the Manneken-Pis, the statue of a small boy urinating atop the 15th-century fountain. The bustling city of Brussels is the European Capital of Culture for 2000 and despite its status as a center for business, the Belgian capital's social scene is gradually casting off the shackles of its bureaucratic backdrop. With Art Nouveau street scenes and the enduring atmosphere of the Grand Place, Brussels is a captivating city. Among its numerous attractions are the irreverent Manneken Pis statue, the Palais de Roi and the Atomium on the outskirts of the city. The easiest way to get around central Brussels is to walk, but to get from one side of the center to the other, or to reach some of the more distant attractions, public transport is necessary and easy. Operated by STIB, the system runs on a mixture of bus, tram and metro lines and covers the city comprehensively. A day-pass offers 24 hours of travel on public transport for BF130 (approx. £2). Services run from 6 a.m. until midnight, after which there's a sporadic night bus service. Taxis can be picked up from the ranks spread around the city and at train stations.
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