Each city hosting European Football Championship matches will present its own art project: the St. Petersburg project came about thanks to the collaboration between EURO and Pokras Lampas.
Pokras Lampas is a modern calligraphy artist known for his collaboration with renowned brands and urban spaces; his high-profile projects and works have been shown around the world. He represents an innovative style of contemporary art in St. Petersburg. To highlight the strong link between art initiatives and football, the artist created a concept, specifically for UEFA EURO 2020, based on the word unity. In this way, he is going to externalize the idea of football's unifying force, where the participating teams are united with their fans, and the host cities create a single space and continuity for EURO 2020.
Pokras Lampas will create his calligraphic paintings in the pop-up gallery, which will open on June 11 at the Center for Art and Music on 20 Nevsky Prospekt. The artist will be creating his works based on translations of the word unity into the languages of all countries participating in EURO in a dynamic performance: the artist plans to communicate with visitors and journalists in the process. Those who do not get a chance to visit the exhibition (because of the pandemic, prior registration at europokras.com is required), will be able to take a look at the process online.
In addition to opening the gallery as part of the project, Pokras Lampas will arrange a series of other events in St. Petersburg. The word unity will appear on multiple surfaces all across the city. A Unity canvas in the colors of the Russian flag was unfurled before the friendly match between Russia and Bulgaria in Moscow on June 5, and Pokras Lampas personally attended the game. The artist will also cover the surface around the fountain in the Maritime Victory Park in St. Petersburg with calligraphy for the Russia — Finland match on June 16.
"The collab with Pokras Lampas for EURO 2020 is yet more proof of the special, symbolic connection between culture and sports in St. Petersburg," Vice Governor of St. Petersburg Boris Piotrovsky said. "The upcoming championship is more than just a tournament, more than just sport. It is a special event that brings together people from a wide variety of professions and hobbies. I am delighted that a young talented artist such as Pokras will become another face of EURO."
"We believe that the European Championship in St. Petersburg is more than just matches; it is a kind of presentation of the city and of our country. Pokras Lampas is a world-famous artist, a representative of an innovative art that makes one look at St. Petersburg and the EURO matches from a different angle. Cooperation with him is another step in the Organizing Committee's work and ambition to make the European Championship even more diverse and fascinating for the fans," enthused Alexei Sorokin, CEO of the EURO 2020 Local Organizing Committee in St. Petersburg.
The European Football Championship will be held from June 11 to July 11 in 11 cities. St. Petersburg will be the venue of seven matches including six group stage games and the quarterfinals.
