Ukraine currently prepares for co-hosting the UEFA EURO 2012. In October, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a programme which determines an overall investment volume of more than UAH 125 bn (almost USD 25 bn) or about 24% of annual GDP in 2006. With such ambitious expenditure plans it is unclear whether Ukraine will be able to eventually benefit from the championship rather than only wasting a significant part of its wealth for a prestigious yet unprofitable project.
The present paper addresses this question. We divide proposed investments into general infrastructure investments and event-specific ones. For general infrastructure investments we argue that plans are well set to generate sustainable benefits for Ukraine’s economy. However, given significant legal uncertainties with respect to Public Private Partnerships in general and the operation of toll roads in particular, we stress that attracting the planned amounts of private investments will be very difficult.