EURO mascot road show: Poznan

The newly unveiled UEFA EURO 2012 mascots spent Thursday visiting Poznan in the first of their tours of the cities hosting the tournament.

After their presentation at Poland's friendly match against the Ivory Coast on Wednesday, the twin mascots toured the city in a bus decorated with children's paintings.

Fittingly they stopped first at four schools before appearing at the city's Old Market Square, where they were welcomed by a crowd of children. In the afternoon the tour took in the children's hospital, airport and Municipal Stadium, the first Polish venue completed for UEFA EURO 2012.

The day's festivities included the nomination of Andrzej Maleszka, a director of theatre performances and films for youngsters, as Poznan's local UEFA EURO 2012 ambassador. Speaking in front of the City Hall, Maleszka, a football fan, said: "I believe that the European Championship will not only be just a number of matches. I hope it will be a real inspiration for children to play football themselves as well."

Poznan is the first of eight stops on the road show which ends in Warsaw on 4 December, when the mascots' names will be announced.

Naming the mascots
Fans in Poland and Ukraine have been choosing their favourite sets of names for the UEFA EURO 2012 mascots. You can have your say via UEFA.com before the deadline of 3 December, choosing from the following options:

• Slavek & Slavko
• Siemko & Strimko
• Klemek & Ladko

Road show schedule
20-21 November – Lviv
23-24 November – Donetsk
25 November – Wroclaw
26-27 November – Kharkiv
28-29 November – Kyiv
29 November – Gdansk
4 December – Warsaw (mascots names revealed)