THOUSANDS of football fans will descend upon Dublin tomorrow to attend the Europa League Final.
The match, between Bayern Leverkusen of Germany and Atalanta of Italy, will take place in the Aviva Stadium, which will open its turnstiles at 5pm ahead of an 8pm kick off.
Gardaí have stated that plans are in place to keep disruption in the city to a minimum, although they have confirmed a number of road closures which will take effect tomorrow and warned motorists to expect “heavy volumes in traffic” in and around the city centre throughout the day.
More than 48,000 people are expected to attend the match, while further crowds will make their way to a dedicated Fan Festival which will take place in Dublin Castle from 10am to 5pm on match day.
“Heavy volumes of traffic can be expected in Dublin city centre and in the general Dublin 4 area throughout the day, culminating in a gradual build-up in the vicinity of the stadium in the lead up to kick-off, and an immediate build-up of traffic post event,” gardaí said in a statement.
“Those who will be using the city are advised to plan their journey in advance and to expect delays and rolling road closures,” they added.
A large number of uniformed Gardaí will be deployed in Dublin for the event, along with specialist units including National Public Order Units, Air Support Unit, Mounted Unit and an Armed Support Unit.
Fan marches will also take place on the day, bringing supporters from each team to the stadium ahead of the start of the match.
Atalanta FC will leave Simmonscourt Road at approximately 5.30pm and walk to the Aviva Stadium via Simmonscourt Road, Merrion Road, Pembroke Road and Lansdowne Road.
Bayer Leverkusen FC supporters will leave Shelbourne Park at the same time and walk to the Aviva Stadium via South Lotts Road, and Bath Avenue. It is expected that some rolling road closures will be conducted by An Garda Síochána to facilitate the Fan March along this route.
Almost 3,000 gardaí are expected to be on duty on the day to police the event.