2005 UEFA Champions League Final design, logo and ticketing programme launched at ceremony in Istanbul. The event launch for the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League Final, took place on 1st December at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, the venue for the match to be played on Wednesday 25 May 2005.
"The design for this historic occasion," commented UEFA's first vice-president Senes Erzik at the launch ceremony, "is a mixture of the exotic and rich colours of Istanbul, icons from the Turkish flag, elegant Ottoman, motifs of Turkey and the glamour of the UEFA Champions League trophy. It will undoubtedly give Europe's biggest club final the distinctive flavour of the host city."
"This is the first time that the final of a UEFA club competition has been played in Turkey," added Levent Bikakci, president of the Turkish national association. "So we are determined to rise to the occasion, to welcome everybody to Turkey and to make it a memorable event." |
"The design certainly gives this final a special feel," comments UEFA's Chief Executive, Lars-Christer Olsson. "It is a symbolic event for European club football and I know our hosts are doing everything possible to make it an outstanding success."
"This event has come such a long way since the first Champion Clubs' Cup was played in Paris," adds UEFA's Senior Product Manager for the UEFA Champions League, Michele Centenaro, "and I'm sure the final in Istanbul will allow us to celebrate the showpiece of UEFA's leading club competition in a fantastic way."
Tickets will be on sale between 31 March - 15 April 2005 on UEFA web site Apart from the design and logo that will give the Istanbul final a unique identity on everything from tickets to street banners, the programme for ticket sales was also launched today. A total of 14,400 tickets will be offered to the general public, with half of that number on sale locally, via the Turkish national association. Turkish citizens can apply for tickets in the period from Monday 6 to Friday 31 December. The other half will be available on the international market - via the www.uefa.com website - between Thursday 31 March and Friday 15 April 2005. In both cases, if demand exceeds supply, the "lucky winners" will be decided by a ballot.
For the final, the capacity of the Stadium has been restricted to 69,000 seats, due to security and media requirements and the need to avoid the sale of view-obstructed seats. Ticket prices (in seven different categories) range from Euros 20 to Euros 150. Each of the two finalist clubs will be entitled to 20,000 tickets, while a total of 14,600 will go to members of the UEFA Football Family, divided between the local organising committee, clubs, leagues, national associations, commercial partners and official guests. |
