World Cup!

We went to the England vs. Sweden game of the World Cup last night in Kyiv. It was a great game with England pulling off a victory 3-2. We caught the end of the Ukraine vs. France game -- which was played in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine -- before heading to the stadium. Sadly, Ukraine lost 2-0, but they had pulled off a victory over Sweden last week. The stadium was really nice and the fans were (generally) under control. The Sweden section was HUGE (the yellow and blue wash of people in these pictures) and the England section sizable as well (red and white). Security had to keep the English section from spilling onto the section behind the goal posts near the end where we were sitting.

There are 'fan zones' around town where fans can watch the games on big screen TVs, buy souvenirs, drink beer and eat snacks, and generally enjoy the tournament. The vibe in the city has been fun and lots of people are here to enjoy the games. The security has been high and all the volunteers have been cheerful and happy to use some English with the foreigners.

There was a lot of skepticism about whether Ukraine could pull off the event, and there's been an open discussion about racism recently (as related to football and in the country in general) in light of a documentary on racist fans in Ukraine and unfortunate comments by some of the Ukrainian team and management in response. However, after having been to a game and through one of the fan zones, I think Ukraine can be really proud of their job hosting the games. People are very welcoming; there were anti-discrimination messages at the stadium (although this doesn't negate the seriousness of the problem, but they are taking note); security has been professional; and lots of families have been out enjoying the event.