Swiss fans ready for Euro 2008

The Euro 2008 tournament starts here in Basel on Saturday evening.

It is clear at every turn that after years of preparation they are just about ready.

Fans arriving at the city's airport are greeted by adverts which, whatever the product they are promoting, somehow manage to shoehorn in a reference to football.

Be it a luxury car or a bag of children's sweets, Euro 2008 gets a mention.

Ari Dimopoulos, 30, a Switzerland fan from Zurich, sums up the mood of the host's fans neatly as he enjoys an outing with friends in the Marktplatz - Basel's main central square.

"I am really excited. I am sure it is going to be a great party," Ari tells me as he and his friends gather in front of the striking 16th Century town hall and chant "Hopp Schwiiz!" or "Go Switzerland!" as they wave their flags.

"As for the Swiss team, I hope they will do better than I expect - perhaps the quarter finals, if we're lucky," he adds.

The bookies unfortunately share his pessimism - putting Switzerland at around 25-1 to win Euro 2008.

And so Ari has an insurance policy. He is supporting another team too - Greece, which just happened to win the European Championship last time round.

Other Swiss fans appear to be doing the same. Many of their cars not only sport their own country's flag - but another's as well.