THE stadiums are ready, but plenty of guest rooms aren't. This year's UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 2012), to be held jointly in Ukraine and Poland, kicks off on June 8th, but a sudden scandal over hotel prices is not doing Ukraine's already-worn reputation any favours. The trouble started after Der Spiegel, a German weekly, published an article alleging that hotel prices in Ukraine’s four host cities during the tournament had rocketed, contracts with promoters had been broken, and organised crime gangs had been forcibly taking over hotels. For matches in Lviv, a city in western Ukraine, fans faced with rip-off prices may opt for cheaper accommodation just across the Polish border. Others may not bother to come at all. No-one is more aware of this than the Ukrainians themselves. A weekly television programme with the catchy name “Facilities 2012—the whole truth about Euro-2012” (view it here) exposes technical problems surrounding the preparations. Think-tanks such as Da Vinci AG issue gloomy forecasts that the tournament could cost the country as much as $8 billion. “Nobody intended Euro 2012 as a business project”, muttered Ihor Umanskiy, an economist and former finance minister. Further damage was done last week when Michel Platini, the French football hero and president of UEFA, blamed "bandits and crooks" for jacking up hotel prices in Ukraine and urged officials to take action. Borys Kolesnikov, the deputy prime minister, said he would do his best. Yet much of the damage may already have been done. Still, say some, even if it does turn a loss Euro 2012 presents Ukraine with a chance to boost its seriously tarnished European credentials. And the new infrastructure will have effects beyond a three-week football tournament. One estimate is that Lviv has leapt forward ten years in terms of development. Many agree that Ukraine must now focus on the reputational rather than economic benefits of Euro 2012. The long-term gains will be measured in western tourists and foreign investment (and, with a bit of luck, the 2022 Winter Olympics). But first Ukraine must provide Europe's football fans with an affordable roof over their heads.  |