And until June 12, the date of the official start of Euro 2004, the world will be living football. Already now all 16 participants are carefully preparing for the continental championship, selecting the best players, trying to approach the June review of forces in full combat readiness. Almost all national championships have either ended or taken a substantial pause, and national teams will try to conduct a final test of strength in late May and early June before the decisive battles. Football fans will not have to complain about a lack of news now or during Euro 2004.
Unsurprisingly, a slight decline in activity will be observed in other sports in June. It is difficult to compete with football, its worldwide popularity and mass interest in the most prestigious of continental championships. Except perhaps on the other side of the ocean. And yet man does not live by football alone. So let us focus on the most striking events in the world of sport that we will have to experience.
May 24 - June 6, FRANCE Perhaps one of the most memorable events of June in Paris will be the decisive matches of the tennis tournament belonging to the VIP category - the famous French Open, known as Roland Garros. Its prize fund for the men's singles draw alone will amount to more than 6 million euros, and the winner, in addition to various honors, will receive a sum of 860 thousand euros (the finalist will get 430 thousand, semifinalists 215 each, quarterfinalists 113 each, etc.). Incidentally, the winners of the French championship in recent years have been exclusively celebrated masters - Austrian Thomas Muster, Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten, American Andre Agassi, Spaniards Carlos Moya, Alberto Costa, and Juan Carlos Ferrero. The lineup of participants will be very strong this time as well.
The main draw competitions will begin on May 24. There are no Ukrainian representatives in the men's tour, but in the women's draw three of our representatives made it straight into the main draw - Yulia Vakulenko, Tetyana Perebyinis, and Yulia Beygelzimer. Five more of our girls tried to break into the participants through the qualifying round. But three Ukrainians (Alona Bondarenko, Olena Tatarkova, and Alexandra Kravets) dropped out after the first match, and after the second Maria Koryttseva joined them. Only Yuliana Fedak reached the third round, but she too will have to work hard to get into the very best.
June 4-6, SAN MARINO After five opening victories by the world record holder for the number of championship titles in Formula 1, Michael Schumacher, the intrigue in the current season, at first glance, has completely disappeared. Nevertheless, the world of motor racing does not let its fans go so easily. And hundreds of thousands of pairs of eyes will watch the next stage of the championship race, which will take place at the Imola circuit, live and via television broadcast. On June 4, free practice will be held, on the 5th qualifying runs will take place, and on the 6th the most interesting part will begin - the race.
June 11-13, CANADA The break in Formula 1 will be short. Just a week later, Schumacher and his entourage will move across the ocean - to Canada, to the circuit named after Gilles Villeneuve. Interestingly, this stage could have been struck from the world calendar. Canada bans tobacco advertising, and as is known, almost all racing cars are decorated with images of the largest cigarette brands: money has no smell. Nevertheless, it was possible to resolve the contradiction between the Canadian authorities' reluctance to violate their own laws and the desire of Formula One teams to preserve advertising revenue and fulfill contractual obligations. The land of the maple leaf will see Formula 1 in the usual mode - with its own eyes.
June 12 - July 4, PORTUGAL Traditionally, the hosts - the Portuguese - will play in the opening match of the Euro 2004 tournament, against whom the draw pitted the Greeks. The game will take place in Porto at the Dragão Stadium. On the same day, June 12, Spain and Russia will face off (Faro and Loulé). On the 13th, Switzerland and Croatia will play (Leiria), France and England (Lisbon). On the 14th, Denmark and Italy will hold their games (Guimarães), Sweden and Bulgaria (Lisbon). On June 15, Germany - Holland will take to the field (Porto) and Czech Republic - Latvia (Aveiro). On the 16th, Greece will compete with Spain (Porto) and Russia with Portugal (Lisbon). On June 17, matches England - Switzerland (Coimbra) and Croatia - France (Leiria). On the 18th, Bulgaria and Denmark will battle (Braga), Italy and Sweden (Porto). On June 19, Latvia - Germany (Porto), Holland - Czech Republic (Aveiro). On the 20th, Spain will meet Portugal (Lisbon), Russia with Greece (Faro and Loulé). On June 21, matches Croatia - England (Lisbon), Switzerland - France (Coimbra). On the 22nd, Italy - Bulgaria (Guimarães), Denmark - Sweden (Porto) will play. On June 23, Holland - Latvia (Braga), Germany - Czech Republic (Lisbon) will perform.
June 24-27 will see the quarterfinal matches. June 30 - July 1 we will see the semifinal matches. The final will take place on July 4 in Lisbon at the Estádio da Luz. By the way, the official tournament website (http://ru.euro2004.com /index.html) and its Russian-language version are full of pleasant surprises - there are all kinds of maps, tips, guides, and even a Russian-Portuguese phrasebook.
June 14-15, USA The World Team Fencing Championship will be held in New York.
June 18-20, USA Formula 1, having moved to the American continent, will give local residents another bright spectacle.
June 21 - July 4, GREAT BRITAIN After Roland Garros and several minor tournaments (Stella Artois in London, Nottingham Open, DFS Classic in Birmingham, Hastings Direct in Eastbourne), which will take place in foggy Albion, the world of tennis will be captured by Wimbledon. The oldest of the major tournaments, it is also famous for its signature and most popular dish, which is strawberries and cream...
June 23-27, USA The Women's World League in water polo will set up its camp in Long Beach.
June 24-27, RUSSIA Russians decided to hold a serious international badminton tournament in Vladivostok - the Russian Open.
June 29 - July 4, DENMARK The European Fencing Championship will be held on the Jutland Peninsula and adjacent islands. The central events will take place in the capital of the country - Copenhagen.