The Proclaimers will perform at the ceremony

The 52,000-seater stadium will be the focus for the footballing world as the German and Spanish sides battle it out to be crowned champions of Europe.

A television audience of about 400m is expected to tune in on Wednesday evening.

The playing surface at Hampden Park has already been replaced well in advance of the showpiece match.

Work is still being carried out to resurface some of the roads leading to the ground on the south side of the city.

However, a Glasgow City Council spokesman said: "We are very aware that such a big game is being held in the city next week and will have the work completed by Monday night.

Road plans

"Obviously this patching work is part of our on-going resurfacing work in the city but people can rest assured that we realise the importance of getting roads in the city ready for the match."

Meanwhile, Strathclyde Police's traffic department has put together major road plans to deal with the thousands of supporters who will be descending on Glasgow.

George Square and some other streets in the city centre will be closed to vehicles as a public safety measure on the day.

I would ask commuters or visitors to the city to have realistic expectations

Chief Supt Alistair Anderson

Diversions will be put in place and officers will be working to identify and tackle any problem areas as early as possible.

The force's head of traffic, Chief Superintendent Alistair Anderson, said: "We can't expect an event of this magnitude to take place in the city without affecting normal traffic patterns.

"I would ask commuters or visitors to the city to have realistic expectations, and be aware that there will be a higher volume of traffic on the roads in and around Glasgow than normal."

Signs will be in place to direct fans to the appropriate part of the stadium.

Plans for the nine-minute opening ceremony have also been unveiled by organisers Unique Events.

More than 400 performers have been drafted in by the Scottish firm to take part in the event, which will star Scottish musicians The Proclaimers.

The stadium can hold 52,000 people

Football-loving twins Craig and Charlie Reid will perform one of their most famous tracks during the ceremony.

A spokesman for Unique Events said: "We are thrilled the brothers have agreed to appear."

The event will also involve French firm Groupe F, which was behind the Eiffel Tower image which was projected across Paris for the millennium.

Unique Events said most of the ceremony had been designed to depict Scotland in a modern way.

And the spokesman added: "We are sure people will not be disappointed.

"We want to show that Scotland is more than capable of holding major events such as this and are hoping it will help the country in its bid to host the European Championships in 2008."