On one side of Khreshchatyk boulevard, a short walk from the Olympic stadium and the heart of the pedestrianized zone where fans will gather to watch matches on giant screens, the Ukrainian flag lies draped over a row of white tents.
This is not a show of support for Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko and his team-mates as the country prepares to co-host the showpiece.
The flag and tents are part of a protest in support of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, and one of a number of actions that have threatened to turn the tournament into a political football and embarrass Ukraine's government.
The European Union and the United States have denounced Tymoshenko's trial and sentence, urging Yanukovich to free her.
"Since they were not allowed to set up a tent protest near the parliament, the majority of protesters decided to occupy the fan zone on Maidan Nezalezhnosti [Independence Square]," said Ruslan Sekela, an activist for a nationalist pressure group, Nastup.
Yet to make an appearance in the fan zone are the topless feminist flash-mobs of the Femen women's rights group.
"Euro 2012 will not help Ukraine develop. The only thing that will develop is the sex industry here. Euro 2012 will help make Ukraine one big Euro brothel," activist Sasha Shevchenko told Reuters in a recent interview.
Given that their office is a stone's throw from Independence Square, it is likely that they will choose to protest in the fan zone at some point.
"We are going to do everything we can to interrupt and disrupt, to break up these [Euro] events," Femen spokeswoman Anna Hutsol told Reuters.
There is a large uniformed police presence on the streets of the Ukraine's capital, and activists supporting Tymoshenko are worried that they will be moved on before the tournament kicks off on Friday.
"No, no. [But] you never know."
