Lviv Arena Opening Gives New Perspective for Western Ukraine

Lviv, October 30, 2011. The stadium seats filled quickly with spectators who came to watch thousands of performers in coordination with a myriad of lights, and music show featuring famous Ukrainian pop-star Ruslana and American singer-songwriter Anastacia. With the roar of the crowd and the explosions of confetti, the new soccer stadium of western Ukraine, built to host Euro 2012, was opened.

With the diligent work of reputable engineers and contractor specialists, this modern, technologically advanced soccer stadium will host not only some of Europe’s world famous soccer matches to come, but the roar and passion of the fans from all stretches of the globe. An event that changed the atmosphere of the city, Lviv’s sports arena grand opening set forth a new generation for Ukraine’s soccer fans. The truly grandiose project of erecting this venue which now seats 34 905 people, has lights and screens specially designed to illuminate 4.4 million colors.

The buzz of excitement was heard from all around, as the crowd’s anticipation grew immense for the celebration to begin. The lights danced with the music, illuminating the excited crowd in their seats. Shades of yellow and blue popped as the people in the stands began to wave while the laser lights followed. The lights dimmed and the cheers became roars, the show was about to begin. Hundreds of dancers stretched across the field in their beautifully decorated traditional Ukrainian outfits. They explained their city’s history with an elaborate dance, flames of fire, cartwheels, and flips; emotion that captivated the audience. “The most spectacular part of the show is fire. We have a lot of special effects and the show’s multiple scenes are tightly connected to Lviv’s history and its founder king Danylo Galytsky,” said one of the main choreographers of the show Yaroslav Belov.

The preparation for the performance took one month of daily and vigorous rehearsals by the volunteers people ranging ages seven to 50. In lieu of the age premise, the choreographers decided against excluding anyone lacking dance experience, thus permitting involvement from anyone, explains Yaroslav Belov.

The specially choreographed dance depicting the culture and history of Lviv was challenging for all of the devoted dancers. “We would come to the stadium every day and rehearse our performance from early morning until ten o’clock in the evening. It was very hard and we were extremely tired but it was definitely worth it,” said one of the show’s performers Lilya Zuravska.

The audience attending the opening celebration of a new stadium took home their excitement with this state of the art sports arena and truly considered it a significant milestone for the city and for Ukraine as a whole. This landmark facility, according to many attendees, could attract sports fans from around the world as well as create another revenue stream for western Ukrainian Lviv. “It’s something new and great we have in Kyiv and Donetsk, Lviv, and Kharkiv. I think it will help Ukraine, Euro 2012 and our city Lviv,” said one the spectators.