Kiev set for Euro 2012 finale

The Ukrainian capital Kiev is set to host the Euro 2012 final, with a number of heads of state and prime ministers expected, despite a political boycott announced by several European countries.

The countdown to the festivities began on Saturday night with a free concert given by British singer-songwriter Elton John and the supergroup Queen to highlight the AIDS epidemic in Ukraine, which is worst affected by the condition in Europe.

On Sunday, a brief closing ceremony will take place in Kiev’s Olympic Stadium before the final kicks off between holders Spain and Italy at 1845 GMT, that is, 7: 45 pm Nigerian time.

More than 7,300 police and the Ukrainian secret service will be out in force to keep order and in a show of strength against hooligans “likely to organise fights and other problems”, a spokesman said.

A number of high-profile figures are expected at the match, among them are the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Prince Felipe, who have boycotted the country’s two previous matches in Ukraine over the treatment of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

Rajoy has said that the boycott was a “sufficiently clear political signal” to Kiev and that he had already indicated his attendance if the national team made the final.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, the Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will also be in the stands.

The European Union has been calling on Ukraine to free Tymoshenko, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for abuse of power during her time as prime minister and has complained of mistreatment.

The EU has called her imprisonment “selective justice” in the run-up to parliamentary elections later this year.

A number of European governments, notably France, Britain and Germany, refused to send any government representatives to their countries’ matches in Ukraine in a sign of protest. AFP