France were named hosts of the UEFA EURO 2016 finals, the first 24-team tournament, in May 2010.A new dimension (方面；側(cè)面) will be added to European football's premier (首要的；最著名的；最成功的) international competition at UEFA EURO 2016.Twenty-four teams will contest the Henri Delaunay Cup (亨利·德勞內(nèi)杯，簡稱德勞內(nèi)杯) for the first time following a decision by the UEFA Executive Committee in September 2008. France were awarded UEFA EURO 2016 by the Executive Committee in a decision announced in Geneva on Friday 28 May 2010.
The EURO finals (決賽階段的比賽) field has risen as the profile (印象；形象) of the championship has grown since the inaugural (創(chuàng)始的；首次的) competition took place from 1958 to 1960. From four to eight, to 16 to 24 next time around, almost half of UEFA's 54 member associations will contest the European crown in 2016.France played a key role in the founding of the UEFA European Championship. It was the brainchild (主意，發(fā)明) of a Frenchman, Henri Delaunay, UEFA's first general secretary from June 1954 to November 1955. The opening final round, featuring four teams, was held in France in 1960, with Paris hosting the inaugural final between the USSR and Yugoslavia on 10 July of that year.
The 2016 tournament will be the third time that a EURO finals has been staged on French soil. After 1960, UEFA took the tournament back there in 1984. It was the hosts who emerged victorious in a wonderful final round which ended with UEFA President Michel Platini (米歇爾·普拉蒂尼), the team's captain and talisman (護(hù)身符；法寶), brandishing (激動(dòng)地?fù)]舞) the trophy in triumph at the Parc des Princes (王子公園球場) in Paris and creating a new championship scoring record with nine goals – including hat-tricks (一人連得三分；帽子戲法) against Belgium and Yugoslavia.Since then, France have enjoyed yet more glory in front of their own fans, when they won the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Now, the French Football Federation (FFF) will be proud hosts of the 2016 event, with Bordeaux, Lens, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Saint-Etienne, Nice, Paris and Saint-Denis waiting to greet the football family and each team's supporters. The FFF joins UEFA, the French government and the host cities as the major stakeholders (參與方) in UEFA EURO 2016.The UEFA EURO 2016 logo is drawn from the theme 'Celebrating the art of football' (慶祝足球藝術(shù)). It aims to bring together the creativity that defines French culture with the beauty of the game and give UEFA EURO 2016 its own personality – thus enhancing the prestige of one of the world's biggest sporting events by providing an easily recognisable identity.Conceived by Brandia Central, the Portuguese agency behind the UEFA EURO 2012 insignia, the UEFA EURO 2016 logo is a representation of various art movements and football elements. Different inspirations can be identified, all centred around the iconic (圖符的；象征性的) Henri Delaunay Cup. The red, white and blue of the French flag combine with flowing lines and shapes to produce a contemporary and bold style, lending (賦予) the logo distinction (獨(dú)特性) and elegance (優(yōu)雅感). The design was unveiled at Paris's Pavillon Cambon Capucines on 26 June 2013.The competition slogan – Le Rendez-Vous (相約法國) – aims to evoke the importance of the UEFA European Championship and to make it a succession of festivities not to be missed. The slogan fits snugly (嚴(yán)密地) with the competition's visual identity, and its central message, which is to 'Celebrate the art of football'. The slogan was announced on 17 October 2013 at Marseille's city hall.Rendez-Vous with history (歷史性聚會(huì)): Twenty-four nations will meet over 51 matches during which the eyes of the world will be riveted on (鎖定) the best of European football.Rendez-Vous with France (與法國的浪漫約會(huì)): Organised in ten host cities, UEFA EURO 2016 will uncover multiple facets (方面) of France, its culture, its heritage, and also its new or renovated (修復(fù)；翻新) stadiums, ideal stages on which to experience the most beautiful sporting emotions.The official mascot of the tournament, Super Victor (超級維克托), was unveiled on 18 November 2014. He is a child superhero in the kit of the France national football team, with a red cape (披風(fēng)；短斗篷) at the back, to echo the colours of the Flag of France. The cape, boots and ball are claimed to be the child's superpowers.The mascot first appeared during the match between France and Sweden at the Stade Vélodrome, Marseille on 18 November 2014. The name of the mascot was revealed on 30 November 2014 after receiving about 50,000 votes from the public on the official UEFA website, beating the other nominated names of 'Driblou' and 'Goalix'. It is based on the idea of victory and references the boy's super powers that he gained when he found the magic cape, boots and ball.（英文轉(zhuǎn)自uefa.com和wikipedia.org，
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