WORLD ROUTES: Dublin Airport Helps Secure Euro 2020 Football for Ireland

Dublin Airport is celebrating its role in helping Ireland to win the right to host one of the world’s largest sporting events. Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) was one of the main supporters of Dublin’s successful bid to be a host for the Euro 2020 tournament. The bid was submitted by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and Dublin City Council and had formal backing from DAA and a range of other stakeholders including the Irish Government, Fáilte Ireland, which is Ireland’s tourism development agency and the Irish Hotels Federation.

Last Friday it was announced that Dublin was successful in its bid and would host three group games and a last 16 fixture. It will be one of the largest ever sporting events held in Ireland and Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison said he was thrilled that Dublin had been successful in its quest to be a Euro 2020 host city.

Speaking to The HUB after arriving in Chicago for this year’s World Routes, he said: “We gave the Dublin bid our full support and worked very closely with the FAI, Dublin City Council and others to ensure we made the best possible pitch for Dublin and for Ireland. This is a great example of how Dublin Airport works hand-in-hand with stakeholders to deliver a positive outcome for all concerned and we follow exactly the same model when working with our airline customers.

The games in Euro 2020 are being spread across 13 cities Europe, rather than confined to one or two host nations to mark the 60^th anniversary of the European Championship.

Dublin’s Aviva Stadium will host four games in the 24-team tournament and Harrison, who was speaking at World Routes 2014, said that Dublin Airport is ready to play its part to ensure that the event is a huge success.

“Dublin Airport’s excellent European and UK connectivity, and its convenient location close to the city centre were some of the factors that worked in the bid’s favour. Ireland is also a country that is hugely passionate about sport, and football fans will receive a warm Dublin welcome when they come here for the Euros in June 2020.”

As part of the formal bid process Dublin Airport had to submit a range of technical data and the airport also featured in the promotional video that showcased the bid to the judging panel.

"Our business, transport and tourism infrastructure along with a world-class stadium played a major part in delivering the bid for Ireland along with full political support, and everyone involved has worked superbly as a team to bring this event to Dublin," said FAI Chief Executive John Delaney.

DAA had previously worked with the FAI to help bring the final of the Europa League to Dublin in 2011.

The full list of Euro 2020 venues is as follows:

Wembley Stadium (London)
Baku Olympic Stadium (Baku)
Allianz Arena (Munich)
Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
Zenit Arena (St Petersburg)
EuroStadium (Brussels)
Parken Stadium (Copenhagen)
Ferenc Puskas Stadium (Budapest)
Aviva Stadium (Dublin)
Amsterdam Arena (Amsterdam)
National Arena (Bucharest)
Hampden Park (Glasgow)
San Mames Stadium (Bilbao)