Turkey launches bid to host EURO 2016

Turkey yesterday officially launched its campaign to host the 2016 European Football Championships with a ceremony in Istanbul. If Turkey is picked to host Europe's largest football event, nine stadiums in eight cities in Turkey will host Euro 2016 matches, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced. Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium, which will be renovated, and Galatasaray's Turk Telekom Arena, expected to open next September, would be used. New stadiums would be built in six cities: Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Konya, Antalya and Eskisehir. Kayseri's Kadir Has Stadium would be another venue. Officials said major infrastructure investments are planned for the host cities, especially in public transportation and accommodation. They also unveiled the logo for the bid, featuring a football in a tulip figure with eight colors representing the eight cities. Turkey is competing with France and Italy to host Euro 2016, and the winner will be chosen next May. If Turkey is given the right to host the tournament, over 4,000 million euros will be invested in stadiums, €1 billion will be spent on building and developing tourism facilities, and €250 million will be spent on promotion and advertisements.