It’s here! Fans at fever pitch as football festival kicks off in style
The Champions League has officially arrived in Cardiff, to the delight of thousands of visitors.
The official opening of festivities for the huge event took place yesterday morning at its home in sunshine-soaked Cardiff Bay, where hundreds of people arrived to revel in the experience of the Champions Festival, which will last for four days.
Ambassador and Welsh footballing legend Ian Rush kicked off proceedings by arriving with the trophy via speedboat – admitting afterwards that the stunt made him feel “like James Bond”.
It has been on a tour of Wales for a number of weeks.
He was greeted on the specially constructed floating pitch by First Minister Carwyn Jones.
The pair posed for photographs and took questions from the world’s media.
In total, 170,000 fans are expected in Cardiff tomorrow, with a global TV audience of 200 million.
Rush said he believed Juventus (who he once played for) would be the victors tomorrow.
While Real have some of the best individuals, he said Juventus are a more united team.
He told reporters that he hopes Cardiff-born Gareth Bale will be able to play after recovering from injury.
“He’s one of the best players in the world. Even if he’s 50%, he is better than others.
“He will want to play, this is his own country. It’s the first time he has put a Madrid shirt on in Wales. It will be the icing on the cake if they can do it.
“What a story that would be if Bale came on as a substitute and scored the winning goal! He would love that in his own country.”
Mr Jones said he hoped the event would encourage people to spread the word about visiting Wales.
He also encouraged people to give fans the best possible reception.
The free festival, which is on until Sunday, opened at 11am.
It includes a number of chances for fans to win tickets to tomorrow’s final through games put on by sponsors.
One lucky fan, nine-year-old Charlie Davies, from Port Talbot, won the chance to be mascot at tomorrow’s game through sponsor MasterCard.
The sponsor is giving out free haircuts and hairstyles to fans who have one of their credit cards.
Charlie’s aunt, Kelly, asked if her son, Frankie, aged three, could have a haircut after spotting his usual hairdresser in the stand.
After checking, the staff told her they weren’t allowed because he was too young, but that they had a bigger surprise for her nephew.
They told Charlie he would be the mascot at Saturday’s game, and his family are getting tickets to see his big moment.
Charlie said that on a scale of one to 10, he was a “10” of excitement.
He said: “I think my friends will be really jealous.”
Fans can also get free toys, sunglasses and merchandise at the stalls, all provided by sponsors. There are also competitions and virtual-reality experiences for fans of all ages.
Until mid-afternoon both the men’s and women’s trophies were in the Bay before the women’s trophy was taken to Cardiff City’s stadium ahead of the women’s final last night.
Fans queued for the chance to be photographed with the trophy, but it was a family from Gloucester who got there first.
Russell Hopkins and sons Toby, eight, and Oliver, 11, queued yesterday and were the first of thousands to get their picture taken with the trophy.
Dad Russell said: “We were down yesterday to see the Doctor Who Experience and saw all this going on.
“It’s a brilliant atmosphere. We came down thinking it would be really packed and really intense security, actually the police have been brilliant.
“All the way down from the city they’ve been saying hello.
“When we went to the London Olympics the Gamesmakers made it. This feels just like that.”
There was a heavy police presence at the festival, with bag searches for people entering, and there was also a large number of armed officers in attendance.
Another attraction for fans is the Uefa Champions Gallery, which has opened at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay.
The gallery includes signed shirts, interactive exhibits and pictures from the tournament over the years.
Fans also got a glimpse of some iconic footballers in a celebrity match yesterday.
Steven Gerrard and David James were among the BT Sport pundits who took on YouTube stars Hashtag United. The game, on the tournament’s unique floating pitch, was watched by hundreds of people.
One of today’s highlights will be the legends game at 4pm.
It will feature stars including 2006 World Cup winner Marco Materazzi, former Wales and Liverpool ace Ian Rush, Manchester United icon Ryan Giggs and Brazil legend Cafu.
Roberto Carlos and Luis Figo are among others involved.
The festival is open until 11pm today and closes at 5pm tomorrow and Sunday.