This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Avatar photo

Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Ukraine

27th June 2011

A Euro 2012 warm-up at Dynamo Stadium

After a day of thunderstorms the sun emerges.  The wet grass glistens as the teams run out.  The bright blue terraces sparkle against an ominous dark sky.  We’re at Kyiv’s exquisite Dynamo stadium, home of the legendary Dynamo Kyiv, for the first in a series of matches between a volunteer team from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and teams representing the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Defence; and Interior Ministry.

With Euro 2012 just a year away, the embassy has been promoting close working links between British institutions and Ukrainian partners.  Our goal is to share UK and Ukrainian experience of inter-agency coordination, security and public order management and communications ahead of Euro 2012.  This has included a series of projects ranging from hard-edged counter-terrorism to cutting edge diversity training.  To mark the one-year deadline and to deepen our links with key Ukrainian Euro 2012-related bodies, including on the all-important consular side, we hold a reception at the residence for partners as diverse as the Interior Ministry, the SBU (Security Service), MOD, MFA, supporters’ groups, the Ukrainian Football Federation, UEFA, the police, and the Euro 2012 host cities.  The visit of the FCO football team is timed to coincide with this.

In the event the opening match is a thrilling 0:0 draw.  Subsequent games are equally competitive, with both UK and Ukrainian sides acquitting themselves honourably (despite some injuries: sympathy to all concerned).  Our thanks go to the organisers; and we look forward to the real thing this time next year – with luck, including at least one team from the UK.

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

Follow Leigh

Tags

euro 2012 Ukraine

Links