Bucharest (Romania), May 9: The normally quiet Henri Coanda International Airport on the outskirts of Bucharest was enjoying its busiest day ever on Wednesday.
Sixty-five planes full of football fans from Spain were arriving for the all-Spanish Europa League final between Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid.
Spain's Crown Prince Felipe was expected to touch down in Bucharest just ahead of the night game.
Game organizers were expecting 30,000 fans from Spain to attend the match in the 55,000-seat National Arena, where Atletico will go after its second Europa League title in three years, and Bilbao its first.
Schools were closed in the city of 3 million, and Antena 3 TV reported that hotel rooms were going for up to 20 times their usual price, with some suites as high as ¤4,000 ($5,200) a night.
Some 2,000 fans gathered in the Old Center tourist district of Bucharest, sampling traditional spicy meatballs and beers, and set off firecrackers. There were dozens of police officer in the area, but no reports of injuries or people fined.
Extra Spanish-speaking police officers were drafted into Bucharest for the day. The match will also be viewed on a giant screen in downtown Bucharest, near the spot from where former Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena fled the city during the 1989 anti-communist uprising, before their execution.
