MADRID'S PREPARATIONS TO HOST THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL UNDERWAY

The UEFA Champions League is Europe’s most prestigious football competition where the biggest stars in football battle it out on the world stage. The Champions League Final is the most watched annual sporting event in the world with the final of the 2012-13 tournament reaching approximately 360 million viewers, the competitions’ highest figures to date.

The final for this season’s Champions League will take place in Madrid, with the Wanda Metropolitano, home of Atletico Madrid, pipping Azerbaijan’s Baku Olympic Stadium in the bidding process back in September 2017. The venue, which will be referred to as the Estadio Metropolitano for sponsorship reasons, seats 67,703 fans and was only recently reopened in 2017 following closure and refurbishment in 2004. The 2019 final will be the fifth time Madrid has hosted the event but marks the debut of the Wanda Metropolitano as its host.

Madrid will become only the second city to host the competition five times or more and so has much experience in party planning for such a huge event. Incoming fans will be able to enjoy the Champions Festival which will be set up in city centre locations such as Plaza Mayor and Puerta de Sol and are aimed at football fans in general rather than just those of the two finalists. There will also be two fan zones with direct connections to the stadium via the Madrid Metro. The area surrounding the stadium has been allocated to constructing a 20,000 square metre Champions Village for travelling fans and Madrilenians alike.

Madrid eagerly awaits the arrival of fans to its streets with the Spanish capital being a historically football orientated city. Tickets go on sale in March 2019 and those who do decide to make the trip will not be disappointed.