Agatha Bertram Travels

Travels with my aunt and some others

  • Remarkable
    • Communities
    • Exploits and Expeditions
    • Food
    • People
  • Africa & Middle East
  • Americas
  • Asia
    • India
    • Japan
    • Vietnam
  • Australia
  • Europe
    • France
  • Useful
    • Books
    • Events
    • Health
    • Travel
  • About
    • AKA Agatha Bertram
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

EURO 2016 Football – Love from Saint Etienne!

July 11, 2016 by AggieB 4 Comments

The EUROs are done and dusted and (spoiler alert) Portugal won. Thirty two teams played in ten stadia and a gazillion fans invaded France. I was completely unprepared for the level of intensity and passion that the games would ignite in my small adopted City of Saint Etienne, which as luck would have it has an international standard football stadium.

Managing sporting and other events is my job and I knew about the EUROs and even applied half heartedly and unsuccessfully for a job. Those in the know will have expected the mass invasion of fans and the media coverage, those who havn’t been in Europe for a European Championship or a World Cup before (me), might have been taken by surprise.

2016EURO fansThere were some Croatian football fans on my tram on the day of the Croatia vs Czeck Republic game. Ostensibly I was grocery shopping – that’s what I told myself but really I wanted an excuse to get out and see what was happening. So there I was, squeezed into a corner while the fans were drinking, chanting, thumping the roof and the windows. They were so happy, and I felt like I was a part of the big party. An older English fan asked them what they were chanting. The Croatian stopped, tried to stabilize himself without spilling his beer. Very courteously, he bent over and happily whispered ‘its not very nice’.

For motorsport purposes I once visited a remote Aboriginal community in Western Australia. I hesitantly took out my camera because the scene was so photogenic and culturally different, unsure of the cultural nuances (in my own country!). Then about the same time the ladies from the community whipped out their cameras to take pictures of us, probably for the same reason. It was a bit the same in Saint Etienne. The fans were being boisterous and the local people (including me) were laughing and taking photos.

It was well reported that one in ten Icelanders were in France for the Tournament. By the number of fans who were here for the Iceland game, there certainly can’t have been many people left in Iceland which has a population of roughly 300,000 according to reports. Whole families were decked out in the team kit as they peacefully made their way from the Gare Chateaucreux up the road to the centre of the city and from there to the stadium.

The English were noisy, boisterous, quite often shirtless and had a scary reputation. I slightly nervously went to the Place Jean Juares to see … THOUSANDS of them happily soaking up some rays, drinking, dancing and singing. Not many of the female variety however. The only interaction I had with the English fans other than to catch the vibe was to offer advice to the pasty faced people on street corners staring intently at their Google maps. I felt like I was being helpful, but probably the instructions may have been slightly more complex than I’d thought.

‘… go back the way you came to the Tram stop and get on the tram. Don’t worry about the ticket because I don’t think anyone else is today. But make sure you get on the tram to Terrasse, not to Bellevue. The Bellevue one will take you in the opposite direction. And when you get to the party on the corner, with lots of people singing don’t get off. There is a MUCH BIGGER PARTY further on. You can’t miss it’.

Beaming smile, what could possibly go wrong.

EURO 2008 and 2012 winners Spain were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Italy. Then Iceland beat England in the Round of 16. Excruciating timing, coming a few days after the Brexit vote. France then defeated Iceland, who’s fans remained upbeat. France unexpectedly defeated Germany and then everyone suddenly thought that France would win – by defeating Portugal in the Final. But the fairytale didn’t happen, and Portugal won. (May the best team ….).

2016EURO StE collageThere were signs of support for the Tournament throughout the city – from the little football men made from what looked like old drums, to the welcome signs on shop windows, the special red ‘Saint Etienne welcomes the EUROs’ tram, urban art, and of course the Fan Zones.

Sadly I didn’t get tickets to the games in Saint Etienne because I was working away, but I have so much enjoyed being a part of the experience, and thanks to the City of Saint Etienne for their support of the event.

Am I hard core? A little, I guess (smiley face).

This blog is linked to the #allaboutfrance linkup.   To get back to the host page – ouiinfrance.com, click here.

P1000514

If you liked this blog, don’t forget to recommend it to your friends and / or subscribe to Agatha Bertram’s enewsletter. Enewsletters are sent once every two to three months with blogging highlights that you may have missed.

You can also keep up to date on Instagram and Facebook – links below.

  • Tweet
  • Share 0
  • Reddit
  • +1
  • Pocket
  • LinkedIn 0

Filed Under: Europe, Events, France, St Etienne

Comments

  1. Vera says

    July 12, 2016 at 12:53 pm

    Even if you weren’t a Soccer fan it would have been hard to not get caught up in the fervour of the enthusiastic crowd of supporters especially when it was in your own city.
    Too bad about France missing out in the end.
    Thanks Sally for giving us a glimpse of what it was all about.
    Keep the stories coming

    Reply
    • AggieB says

      July 13, 2016 at 9:21 am

      Yes, it was great to be here and experience it :). Just sorry I didn’t think of getting tickets before they were sold out. thanks for commenting 🙂

      Reply
  2. Diane says

    August 7, 2016 at 2:51 pm

    Cool, all the matches and fans were so intense on TV that I can only imagine what it was like in person. I’ve only been to one soccer match in France and it wasn’t during the Euro. Had a great time! Thank you for linking up to #allaboutfrance!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Saint Etienne – Urban But in a Good Way says:
    July 11, 2016 at 10:07 am

    […] EURO2016 Football – Love from Saint Etienne – link […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Vera Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe to receive periodic wraps of the most popular posts.

Search

Thought for today

Follow the trip that Gandalf and Co did over the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, with a view of the volcanic landscapes and Mt Ngauruhoe which featured as ‘Mt Doom’.   Not far from Mt Doom is beautiful Lake Taupo

New Zealand, Feb 2022

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

#Aggiebtravels

aggiebtravels

This was unexpected - emergency window cleaning du This was unexpected - emergency window cleaning during the match in Mumbai  #cwc23
The incredible cricket stadium in Dharamsala. Bac The incredible cricket stadium in Dharamsala.  Backed by the Himalayas.  #incredibleindia #cwc23
The custard apple lady, Hyderabad #incredibleindia The custard apple lady, Hyderabad #incredibleindia #exoticfruit
Mohammed Bin Rashid Library #dubai #booklovers # Mohammed Bin Rashid Library  #dubai  #booklovers #firsteditionbooks
Spending some quality time with the fam - Denmark Spending some quality time with the fam - Denmark on the south coast of west Australia @discoverdenmarkwa
Instagram post 17983434584134993 Instagram post 17983434584134993
Buildings in Bucharest - we were given cake at chu Buildings in Bucharest - we were given cake at churches because it was (still) Easter, saw the statue of King Karel I who was a German Prince, invited by the Romanians to be King, and finally the Houses of Parliament, second biggest government building after the Pentagon.  Built by President Ceaucescu while the economy was in tatters. 

#bucharest #romania #trekkup #trekkupdubai
A day in the life - Transnistria. We had lots mcg A day in the life - Transnistria.  We had lots mcg with the lady in the first pic, one of the few remaining statues of Lenin, market shopping and a memorial to people who died at Chernobyl #transnistria #tiraspol #moldova #trekkup
Meeting a monk today who has lived in a cave for t Meeting a monk today who has lived in a cave for the last 20 years, outside Chișinău in Moldova.
Walking in the Wadi Abadilah. Taking advantage of Walking in the Wadi Abadilah.  Taking advantage of the winter weather ! #uae
Starting the new year with an early morning run 🏃‍♀️ #dubaicanal
Attack birds - photo of a stranger. #gnarabup #we Attack birds - photo of a stranger.  #gnarabup #westernaustralia
Family time in Perth (and south). Family time in Perth (and south).
80,000 people, a drinks break and a light show at 80,000 people, a drinks break and a light show at the MCG.  The final match of the Men's Cricket T20 World Cup.  #PAKvENG
I have so many memories associated with manual sco I have so many memories associated with manual scoreboard day in cricket.  Now a new one - Adelaide Oval #MT20worldcup
Perth by night #perthstadium Perth by night #perthstadium
Southbank, rain on the way! #Melbourne. Southbank, rain on the way!  #Melbourne.
Thanks to @vavien75 and Pierre for their hospitali Thanks to @vavien75 and Pierre for their hospitality in Bretagne BZH.  Overnight in St Malo before a ferry back to Jersey and a flight back to Dubai.  As I was flying out, I thought at first that Guernsey was really big, before I realized it was France 🇫🇷 😂😂
Last day in Jersey. What a beautiful place ! #ch Last day in Jersey.  What a beautiful place !  #channelislands #wartunnels #elizabethcastle
Jersey in the morning. Elizabeth Castle, St Helie Jersey in the morning.  Elizabeth Castle, St Helier #jersey #channelislands
Load More Follow on Instagram

#allaboutfrance

Lou Messugo

Affiliates

Web Hosting

Categories

Africa & Middle East Americas Asia Australia Books Communities Equipment Europe Events Exploits and Expeditions Food France General Health India India Japan Japan Markets Movies New Zealand Oman People Remarkable Snapshots St Etienne Travel Uncategorised Useful Vietnam

Archives

  • July 2023 (2)
  • July 2020 (1)
  • June 2020 (1)
  • January 2020 (1)
  • December 2019 (1)
  • November 2019 (1)
  • February 2019 (1)
  • January 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (1)
  • November 2018 (1)
  • October 2018 (2)
  • July 2018 (1)
  • June 2018 (1)
  • March 2018 (1)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • December 2017 (1)
  • November 2017 (1)
  • October 2017 (1)
  • August 2017 (1)
  • July 2017 (2)
  • June 2017 (2)
  • May 2017 (2)
  • April 2017 (1)
  • March 2017 (2)
  • February 2017 (2)
  • January 2017 (1)
  • November 2016 (2)
  • October 2016 (1)
  • September 2016 (1)
  • August 2016 (2)
  • July 2016 (4)
  • June 2016 (3)
  • May 2016 (2)
  • April 2016 (2)
  • March 2016 (3)
  • February 2016 (3)
  • January 2016 (2)
  • December 2015 (3)
  • October 2015 (1)
  • September 2015 (1)
  • August 2015 (1)
  • July 2015 (5)
  • June 2015 (3)
  • April 2015 (2)
  • March 2015 (5)
2016 03 bike_white

Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions

All content, layouts, designs, and graphics are my own unless otherwise noted. Logo and Illustrations by Ignacio Brito
2016 03 suitcase_white

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in