The Albanian government has declared Wednesday 25 May a public holiday as the capital of Tirana will host the Europa Conference League final in the Air Albania stadium.
Not only will the day be a nationwide public holiday seeing the closure of schools and public institutions, but much of the city will become pedestrian only, with cars being prohibited or redirected.
Authorities expert some 100,000 fans to descend on the city, despite each side playing in the final having only 4000 tickets available. The final will see Roma and Feyenoord face-off, with tickets to the event changing hands for thousands of euros.
Interior Minister Bledi Cuci said the pedestrian measures will “organise in the most exemplary way one of the most major events that have occurred in Albania,” adding that “we are undertaking all the measures to make the day festive for everyone, not only for Italian and Dutch fans.”
Albania was picked to host the event back in 2020, just 12 months after the 20,000-seater stadium opened.
The event has also seen hotel prices surge in the capital with some rooms going on Booking.com for between €2000 and €3000. This caused outrage on social media as citizens noted that days before the match and after, the prices were back down to between €40 and €150.
