'A great opportunity for Manchester'

The visual identity for the 2008 UEFA Cup final, to be played on 14 May at the City of Manchester Stadium, was unveiled this morning at a special ceremony in the English city.

New identity
The final of the UEFA Cup has, in recent years, been given a personality of its own via a complete design concept developed especially for the event. The initial idea that inspired the creation of a new identity for each final was to develop a specific design featuring the UEFA Cup and add a distinctive flavour of the host city. The objective is to help promote the final and enhance the prestige of one of Europe's biggest sporting occasions, while the visual identity can also be extensively used by UEFA's many partners, such as broadcasters, sponsors and licensees, to promote the final on a global basis.

Outstanding career
This season's event design was unveiled in the presence of senior representatives of the city of Manchester, UEFA, the Football Association and final ambassador Denis Law. The 1964 European Football of the Year played for both Manchester City FC and Manchester United FC during his outstanding career.

'Great opportunity'
Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester city council, said: "The UEFA Cup final is a great opportunity for Manchester to show the world how we enjoy international events, which bring benefits and investment to everyone who lives and enjoys themselves in the city. We are delighted the UEFA Cup final will promote Manchester through two of our greatest passions, our love of sport and our love of culture."

Inspiration
The visual identity combines three sources of inspiration - the main UEFA Cup brand identity, the iconic City of Manchester Stadium and the paintings of local artist Liam Spencer, renowned for his vivid portrayals of the urban landscape in and around the city. He has provided unique imagery by producing a series of paintings especially for the 2008 showpiece.