Ukrainians endured the heartbreak of their team failing to move beyond the first round in their home Euro 2012 but are still revelling in the rare spotlight the event has thrown on their young nation.

The number of Ukrainians watching games at the specially constructed fan zones laid on for supporters in Kiev and other cities has fallen since their blue-and-yellow heroes were knocked out after a nail-biting clash with England.

But the Euro 2012 co-hosts along with Poland are still enjoying the rare influx of foreign guests, in an effervescent atmosphere which is stark contrast to the public relations fiasco which marked the build-up to the tournament.

“It’s great that the Euro took place here... The foreigners are going to go back with good impressions about Ukraine,” said Olexander, 40, as he watched the England-Italy quarter-final with the Ukrainian flag draped across his arms.

“Ukraine was criticised a lot before but here the atmosphere has turned out to be much better,” he added.

Olexandra Shamrai, 16, was watching the match in the Kiev fan zone with English and Italian flags painted on each cheek in an impressive show of neutrality.

“The main thing is that our country - which was not so well known in Europe - has been visited by many people. I am in touch on Facebook with some and they are saying they want to come again,” she said.

The fan zone in the centre of Kiev has been visited by 1.2 million supporters, out of 2.7 million who have visited similar venues nationwide, according to Euro 2012 organiser in Ukraine Markiyan Lubkyvskiy.

“Ukrainian fans and Ukrainians as a whole have shown themselves to be a kind nation, open to the world and possibly this has been the most unexpected thing in the whole tournament,” he told reporters.

Lubkyvskiy also praised the country’s police force, who were hardly considered as a national treasure before the Euro. “I hope that these good features will remain after the championship,” he said.