Football fans flood into city

A Spanish fan gets into the festivities in Glasgow

Thousands of football fans have flooded into Glasgow as the city staged the Uefa Champions League final.

The city hosted a festival of football as Real Madrid of Spain face the German side Bayer Leverkusen.

Hotels in the city are full to capacity and bars have seen a large influx of supporters - along with Scottish football fans wanting to experience the occasion.

Glasgow Airport has had its busiest day of the year as supporters flew in for the game.

Police enter into the spirit of things

A spokesman said the airport was effectively full and described the atmosphere as "colourful and busy".

It usually handles about 30,000 people a day on its busiest weekend of the year, and a similar number was expected on both Wednesday and Thursday.

About two-thirds of them are football fans travelling to and from the match.

Many German fans are arriving at Prestwick Airport, while other supporters came into Edinburgh.

The cup final was treated as a showcase for the city and the Scottish tourist industry.

Glamour match

A King and a former James Bond joined some of the biggest names in football for the match at the 52,000 seat Hampden Park National Stadium.

King Juan Carlos of Spain flew into Glasgow to watch his beloved Real Madrid while Scotland's most famous son, actor Sean Connery, also attended the glamour match.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher were present for the match.

The fans gathered in the city centre

Managers from some of the continent's biggest clubs were at Scotland's National Stadium, including Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, Liverpool's Gerard Houllier and Roma coach Fabio Capello.

Players from the classic 1960 Hampden final, when Real Madrid defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 in what is regarded as one of the best games of all time, watched from the VIP seats.

Members of Celtic's 1967 European Cup winning-side, the first British team to lift the coveted trophy, are attending alongside legendary Inter Milan captain Giacinto Fachetti.

The Scottish Executive was represented by First Minister Jack McConnell and Sports Minister Mike Watson.

Opening ceremony

The Greater Glasgow area is expected to make about £22m from the final, which is expected to be watched by up to 20% of the world's population.

About £500,000 worth of accomodation has been booked in the area, filling some 9,000 rooms in total.

A nine-minute opening ceremony with more than 400 performers preceded the match.

It featured Scottish musicians The Proclaimers performing one of their most famous tracks.

Organisers Unique Events said most of the ceremony had been designed to depict Scotland in a modern way.