CNN

November 24th, 2011

CNN looks ahead to Euro 2012

Special preview week of in-depth coverage from Poland & Ukraine

Monday 28 November to Saturday 3 December

With just under 200 days until the UEFA Euro 2012 football tournament kicks off in Warsaw, Poland, CNN International is dedicating a week of special programming to the championships – as the top 16 teams in Europe prepare for the draw itself on Friday 2 December.CNN’s football expert, Pedro Pinto, travels to Poland and Ukraine to anchor a week of special reports that will peer inside one of the world’s most-watched sporting events.

Pinto will present a range of content looking at the personalities, infrastructure, fans, history and venues that will take centre stage on TV screens worldwide next summer.

At the heart of the week’s coverage will be a series of interviews and features with some of those most closely linked to the championships.  UEFA President Michel Platini, and the legendary former AC Milan striker Andrei Shevchenko – one of Ukraine’s most famous sons – will offer their take on the Championships. Pinto also meets former Danish goalkeeper and hero of the 1992 European Championships, Peter Schmeichel, and one of the world’s greatest ever players, Zinedine Zidane, to hear what the Euro Championships conjure up for them.

Elsewhere, Pinto speaks to the head of the Polish Football Association and takes a unique plane journey across Ukraine with Deputy Prime Minister Borys Kolenikov to see all four Ukraine host cities in one day! And no coverage would be complete without the legends of yesteryear – Dutch legend, Ruud Gullit, German World Cup winner Thomas Berthold and France’s World Cup winner Marcel Desailly join Pinto to explore some of the big questions around the tournament, and take part in quick-fire quiz.

Hosting Euro 2012 is a gigantic undertaking, and the programme will also examine the host nations’ infrastructure and the all-important stadia.  Will these two emerging nations be ready to welcome the thousands of fans, as well as the world’s media, next summer?

Finally, in a daily feature leading up to the draw, Pinto will look at the runners and riders in the tournament, picking out the players to watch and asking who can stop the all-conquering European and World Champions, Spain.

Mike McCarthy, vice president of coverage and feature programming for CNN International, said: “Euro 2012 is a global event, of interest far outside the continent itself, with some of the greatest footballers in the game taking part.  It’s also a cultural festival and a huge logistical undertaking, and we want to get under the skin of all the stories that are emerging ahead of the draw, and picking up some of the threads that we’ll be following all the way to the tournament itself next summer.”

In addition to the week of special content, CNN World Sport will present a half hour special from Poland and Ukraine, ‘UEFA Euro 2012: The Final Draw’.

Pedro Pinto will guide viewers as the names come out of the hat, and discover who plays who among the 12 finalists, joined by top expert opinion.

‘UEFA Euro 2012: The Final Draw’ will be broadcast at the following times:

Saturday 3 December at 0830, 1730 and 2200 GMT

Sunday 4 December at 0730 GMT

Monday 5 December at 0830 GMT

Tags
CNN