Fan invasion adds to feelgood factor

With clocks ticking down to the start of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the sun, together with the visiting fans, has come out to Sweden's west coast at just the right time.

Fan Zone
In Halmstad, scene of the tournament's opening game, Finland supporters heavily outnumbered their England counterparts when the city's Fan Zone opened its doors at midday. Those sides get the championship under way from 18.15CET at Örjans vall today. Silja Saarinen, clad from head to toe in Finnish white and blue, was just one supporter taking in the festival atmosphere. "We plan to enjoy the afternoon and mix with other Finland fans," she said. "Because it's the first time we've qualified and because Sweden is so close, there should be lots of fans. Many have travelled from Helsinki to Stockholm and are now coming down by coach for the game."

Finnish invasion
Ilpo Luukka was one such pilgrim. He said: "The ferry to Stockholm was full of football fans. I expect there to be a couple of thousand Finnish fans at the group games. After that, maybe not so many – I guess many of us don't expect to reach the semi-finals. But you never know."

English optimism
England follower Andy Bickley, attending his team's opening two Group B matches with friend Ian Davidson, sounded a more optimistic note: "We don't know much about Finland – nothing in fact – so we hope we're not surprised. I'm looking forward to seeing Theo Walcott and hopefully he can do some damage. It's the first time we've been to watch England abroad. We decided to come last year as we thought it would be a good place to visit while watching some quality football. Hopefully England will do well, but at the moment we're just enjoying the sunshine and atmosphere."

New stadium
Three hundred kilometres north in Gothenburg, expectation levels were peaking ahead of the 20.45 kick-off between Spain and Germany. Sweden may not be playing here, but Gothenburg has received a boost from its new Gamla Ullevi arena – opened in April – and a near-capacity 16,500 crowd will watch this evening's Group B encounter.

German caution
In the Gothenburg Fan Zone, Rainer Kronschnabel and Jochen Benz from Kaiserslautern were excited about the impending drama, despite the strength of the opposition. "Spain are good. If we can start the tournament with a draw, I will be happy," Kronschnabel said, after beating his pal in the shooting competition with an 87km per hour strike. "Anyway, we will enjoy our stay. We decided after the draw that we should come here. The Under-21 team are fun to watch."

Close to the stars
The championship's star players have also been making an impact in the neighbourhoods where the teams are training. At Spain's Hjallbovallen base in eastern Gothenburg, youngsters from local club Gunnilse IS congregate whenever Spain take the field. Club spokesman Mikael Olausson said: "The kids are here all the time, trying to look through a fence to catch a glimpse of their idols. It means a lot to them that a player like Bojan Krkić is practising on the same pitch they normally use. Tonight we will take 300 youth players to the Gamla Ullevi – it will surely be a lifelong memory for them."