Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has praised the contribution of the volunteers who worked at the Euro 2012 European Football Championship to creating a positive image of Ukraine.
"The mood of the guests coming to our country depended on many hours of your selfless work. You did not build roads, did not mix concrete, but you were doing a very important thing - creating a reputation for our country. Your politeness, courtesy, tact and ability to find common ground moulded the judgements about our country," the premier said at a meeting with the best of the Euro 2012 volunteers in Kyiv on Monday.
"Foreign visitors said that they saw a very different country and what they saw what quite the contrary from what they had read about it. And it was not me but you who were talking to them," the prime minister said.
The best volunteers were presented with wristwatches from the government.
