I'm hoping to get any general info about Euro '08. Is it possible to get hotels? I'm assuming tickets are impossible, but is it worth being in the cities anyway? Are the crowds fun folks who like to party, or is it a hooligan-laden mess? Any web sites I should check out? Thanks.

Here's the website.

www.uefa.com/Competitions/euro/index.html

Nobody knows what it will be like next year, but in previous European Championships, people often had to travel in from other cities by train or stay on camp sites for the match. 3* hotels and up are block-booked by organisers, so best to target lower-grade hotels and pensions, even though they too will raise their prices. You can try booking through the official site, or the usual booking agents like Venere.
As for hooliganism, in the past in the cities where England played, there was high police presence and incidence of alcohol-fuelled mayhem, but England didn't qualify this time. While other countries also have hooligan problems, notably Italy, they seem to be confined to their own countries and don't export them for international matches. So you can expect largely trouble-free, good-natured crowds at host cities. They try to create a fiesta atmosphere with giant screens, cultural events.
As for tickets, they will be hard to get, not least because most venues have quite small capacity, like 30,000 or less. With the ease of travel for fans, all matches will be sell-outs and buying tickets on the black market can be risky, with tickets not turning up, fakes or failing ID checks on entry - all tickets are coded with the original purchaser's name, and while this didin't stop people getting in on black-market tickets previously, they say they've tightened up security.

The absence of England will make life a great deal easier for the other fans. England always take huge numbers of fans and take up all the hotels etc - no England means a lot of block booked rooms are now available.

There will be loads of dutch and Germans to make up for the English.

As for hooligans - yes it happens. Mainly from Eastern Europe - especially against Germany. However it's easy enough to avoid.

The Dutch are usually good fun.

The Dutch and their caravans/ trailers/tents have already made Switzerland a destination during the Euro 08. Camping sites near Bern are already booked. It even made the papers.

Are they bringing their own food and packets of chocolate sprinkles?