MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/. The fact that St. Petersburg hosted seven matches of 2020 UEFA Euro Cup is an incredible achievement for the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Russia-2020, UEFA Events SA CEO Martin Kallen said in a letter, made available to TASS.

Seven matches of Euro 2020 were played in St. Petersburg between June 12 and July 2. The next day after the last match in the Russian city, Alexei Sorokin, the head of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Russia-2020, told TASS that the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) were pleased with the organization of seven matches of the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup. Sorokin said then that UEFA Director of Competitions Giorgio Marchetti "expressed gratitude to our entire international team of St. Petersburg."

"Congratulations for delivering seven excellent matches in St. Petersburg, it is an incredible achievement!" Kellen said. "These last couple of weeks have been very intense for everybody involved. I would like to thank each and every one of you for the efforts that you have put into the EURO project. You have demonstrated what can be achieved if dedicated & motivated people work together as a team and have the same goals and ambitions."

"I had the privilege to attend a match in St. Petersburg and I can state that I was very impressed by the atmosphere in the venue team and the high standards of professionalism. Even amid the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 over the last few months, your enthusiasm to deliver EURO 2020 matches was always visible. You should always remember and be proud of that - today and far beyond this summer’s competition," he continued.

According to Kallen, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Russia-2020, who worked so closely together, "have become an integral part of UEFA’s extended European family."

"I hope that you also enjoyed the time you worked on this project and that you get to enjoy watching the remaining games in the tournament which will no doubt bring great excitement," he added.

"Both UEFA and I wish you well for all your future endeavors," Kallen concluded.

UEFA Euro Cup 2020 in St. Petersburg

Russia’s second largest city hosted six group stage games: Russia-Belgium (0-3), Russia-Finland (1-0), Slovakia-Poland (2-1), Sweden-Slovakia (1-0), Belgium-Finland (2-0) and Sweden-Poland (3-2), as well as a quarterfinal played by Switzerland and Spain (1-1, 1-3 on penalties).

St. Petersburg’s seven matches were cheered by a total of 132,752 spectators, or each by 18,965 fans on average. Russia’s group stage match against Belgium in St. Petersburg drew the most spectators - 26,264.

The overall capacity of the St. Petersburg Arena stadium is 68,134 seats. However, due to coronavirus-related restrictions, the venue could be filled only to half of its capacity, or 34,067 seats. The stadium was on average filled to 27.8%.

The 2020 UEFA Euro Cup, which was postponed last year over the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus, runs between June 11 and July 11, 2021 and Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg was picked as one of its venues. Following the pullout of Bilbao and Dublin from the list of the championship’s hosting cities, the rescheduled 2020 UEFA Euro Cup is now staged in 11 cities, namely in London, England; Munich, Germany; Rome, Italy; Baku, Azerbaijan; St. Petersburg, Russia; Bucharest, Romania; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Budapest, Hungary; Glasgow, Scotland; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Seville, Spain.

On April 23, St. Petersburg was granted the right to host three additional matches of the UEFA Euro Cup, or seven in total.

On Sunday, Italy will play England in the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup final.