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Rehearsal time for Portuguese police for Euro 2004
Coimbra, Apr 30: Portuguese police rehearse for Euro 2004 at the Portugal versus Sweden friendly soccer match.
Coimbra, Apr 30: Portuguese police rehearse for Euro 2004 at the Portugal versus Sweden friendly soccer match.
With six weeks before an expected one million soccer fans visit Portugal for the European soccer championship, police in Coimbra were outside the stadium on Wednesday (April 28) to rehearse their operations.
Anti-riot police waited nearby in buses before the Portugal v Sweden friendly match, while mounted police patrolled the stadium approaches. Stewards searched fans arriving, and any objects on a forbidden list had to be thrown into a bin.
These included radios, video cameras, long lens cameras, knives, fireworks, bottles, glasses, cans, airhorns, umbrellas or motorcycle helmets. Medical team staffed an emergency field hospital built for the purpose. Euro 2004, one of the biggest sporting events in the world, runs from June 12 to July 4 and will feature 16 teams from around Europe. Many say it rivals the World Cup in the intensity of its competition.
General Leonel Carvalho, the security coordinator for the tournament, said: "I'm optimistic about security at Euro 2004, as far as I can be about a situation that is about expectations. We can't be completely optimistic because you never know what can happen".
The security budget for Euro 2004 has been increased by two million euros (2.38 million U.S. dollars), organisers said on Wednesday. Euro 2004 vice-president Mathieu Sprengers said that some of the money would be spent on extra insurance for the stadiums but gave no detailed figures.
Security measures for the tournament have been revised following the March 11 bomb attacks in Madrid.
There were no security problems around the Portugal v Sweden match, which attracted a crowd of just 14,000 -- less than half the capacity of the rebuilt City stadium in Coimbra, one of the 10 venues for Euro 2004. There will be a final, larger exercise in Lisbon on May 23.
Bureau Report
These included radios, video cameras, long lens cameras, knives, fireworks, bottles, glasses, cans, airhorns, umbrellas or motorcycle helmets. Medical team staffed an emergency field hospital built for the purpose. Euro 2004, one of the biggest sporting events in the world, runs from June 12 to July 4 and will feature 16 teams from around Europe. Many say it rivals the World Cup in the intensity of its competition.
General Leonel Carvalho, the security coordinator for the tournament, said: "I'm optimistic about security at Euro 2004, as far as I can be about a situation that is about expectations. We can't be completely optimistic because you never know what can happen".
The security budget for Euro 2004 has been increased by two million euros (2.38 million U.S. dollars), organisers said on Wednesday. Euro 2004 vice-president Mathieu Sprengers said that some of the money would be spent on extra insurance for the stadiums but gave no detailed figures.
Security measures for the tournament have been revised following the March 11 bomb attacks in Madrid.
There were no security problems around the Portugal v Sweden match, which attracted a crowd of just 14,000 -- less than half the capacity of the rebuilt City stadium in Coimbra, one of the 10 venues for Euro 2004. There will be a final, larger exercise in Lisbon on May 23.
Bureau Report