The planned venues

Six Scottish and two Irish stadia will be used to stage Euro 2008 games.

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Hampden
Location: Hampden Park, Glasgow.
Capacity: 52,045.

Established in 1867, Hampden can claim to be the oldest soccer stadium in the country and is regarded as the home of Scottish football.

Did you know?

When the North Stand was completed in 1937, a record crowd of 183,724 packed into Hampden.

The National Stadium was refurbished recently to comply with international safety regulations, although the atmosphere of the old Hampden has been partially lost as a result.

Nevertheless, it has excellent facilities and successfully hosted the 2002 Champions League final.

It will host the opening match and one of the semi-finals.

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Ibrox
Location: Edminston Drive, Glasgow.
Capacity: 50,444

Rangers' stadium has long been recognised as one of the finest arenas in Europe.

Did you know?

Rangers have played on the present site of Ibrox since 1899.

Largely as a result of the club's former chairman David Murray's desire to create a world-class stadium, the venue on the south side of Glasgow also has superb facilities.

With a capacity of just over 50,000, it can prove an intimidating place for visiting teams.

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Celtic Park
Location: Parkhead, Glasgow
Capacity: 60,501.

Another stadium that can lay claim to being one of the best in Europe after an extensive refurbishment in recent years.

Did you know?

The rear 11 rows of the North Stand stick out over the Eastern Necropolis, the graveyard which lies behind the stand.

A full house of over 60,000 inside the home of the Scottish champions Celtic turns it into a cauldron of noise.

The largest club stadium in Scotland, it will host one of the semi-finals.

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Murrayfield
Location: Murrayfield, Edinburgh.
Capacity: 67,500.

The biggest of all the Scottish venues involved with a capacity of 67,500, the home of Scottish rugby is another outstanding sporting venue.

Did you know?

It is a tradition for fans visiting Murrayfield to attempt a circuit of all 15 pubs in nearby Rose Street.

Murrayfield has hosted a Rugby World Cup semi-final and has also been upgraded recently.

Although not a regular footballing venue, it will do Scotland proud during such a high-profile event and has been given the honour of staging the championship final.

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Only two from three of the following three proposals by Hibernian, Aberdeen and the Dundee football clubs will get the green light if the Scottish-Irish bid is successful.

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Easter Road
Location: Easter Road, Edinburgh.
Proposed capacity: 34,880.

What do the fans sing?

Hi-bee, Hibernian FC

We hate jam tarts and we hate Dundee

And we'll fight wherever we may be

Coz we are the famous Hibernian FC!

Hibs have ambitious plans to extend Easter Road in order to be part of Euro 2008.

Their current capacity of just over 17,000 would be doubled, with the current east stand being replaced by a new three-tier stand.

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Aberdeen
Proposed location: Westhill Park, Aberdeen.
Proposed capacity: 31,400.

Aberdeen FC plan to build a new stadium in a new leisure park on the outskirts of the Granite City, incorporating a football academy.

Did you know?

Aberdeen and Hibs cannot use their existing grounds because Uefa rules dictate that any host nation must have at least six 30,000-seater stadia.

The club would move from their current ground at Pittodrie to Westhill Park once the tournament is over.

But the new facility has been plagued by planning problems and has yet to be given the go-ahead.

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Dundee
Proposed location: Not yet finalised
Proposed capacity: 31,400.

Dundee United and Dundee have agreed to share a brand new stadium in a ground-breaking move for Scottish clubs.

Again, the plan is to build a 30,000 all-seater stadium on the outskirts of the city.

It would be the first and only stadium in Scotland with a retractable roof and would also be home to the Scottish Claymores American Football Team.

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Two of out of the following three Irish stadia will be chosen to host some of the Euro 2008 games.

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Croke Park
Location: North Dublin.
Capacity: 79,500.

The impressively-redeveloped stadium would be ideal for Euro 2008.

But the owners, the Gaelic Athletic Association, do not allow 'foreign' sports to be played on their grounds.

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern is urging the GAA to allow Croke to be used for Euro 2008 on a one-off basis.

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Stadium Ireland
Proposed location: Abbotstown.
Proposed capacity: 80,000.

Irish PM Ahern wanted the centrepiece of Ireland's Euro 2008 campaign to be a brand new stadium and because of his personal involvement in the project it was nicknamed the 'Bertie Bowl'.

However, due to spiralling costs, the government was forced to concede it could not fund the scheme.

Attempts are now being made to attract private finance to get the stadium built.

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Lansdowne Road
Location: Ballsbridge, Dublin.
Capacity: 35,000.

The oldest international rugby venue in the world will need major revamping to meet Euro 2008 requirements.

The Republic of Ireland play their home games at the Ballsbridge venue, with temporary seating brought in to replace the terracing.

The ground is owned by the Irish RFU who may embark on a redevelopment programme now that the Stadium Ireland project has hit financial difficulties.