It's not a rugby town by any stretch of the imagination but the organisers and local planners in Bilbao have made every effort to make it look like one for this weekend.
Giant inflatable rugby balls fly high over the riverside fan zone and in the central thoroughfare, the poles are festooned with adverts for the double-header and the bars are all decked out in green, the colour of one of the tournament sponsors.
The sun shone as we landed at the airport and didn't let up until it got dark, around 9pm. The forecast for the early part of today is for something similar but after that the clouds are due to roll in and plastic ponchos will be in popular demand on match-day.
Top of the menu for the local hostelries is beer, an extra 50,000 litres have been ordered in to cater for the thirsty hordes. Normally, they get away with 70,000 if that kind of thing impresses you.
Bars in #Bilbao have put in a bigger beer order than normal for @ChampionsCup weekend. 120,000 litres compared to 70,000. Opening hours extended. Estimated worth of finals to local economy is €30m #rterugby #LEIvR92 #Topa pic.twitter.com/GJF49UwvHg
— Michael Glennon (@MicilGlennon) May 10, 2018
The opening hours have been extended and the word is that the barstaff are not happy with that licensing decision, not that you'll notice the difference as the servers in this part of the world seem grumpy at the best of times and wear it like a badge of honour. You don't mind as long as the cheap and delicious pintxos keep coming.
The city, population around the 300,000 mark, has already welcomed a selection of English and Welsh fans, who drank in good spirits and even tried to get a singsong going. Visible also was a smattering of overly optimistic Munster fans who weren't going to let a good beating in Bordeaux get in the way of a trip to a beautiful part of the world.
Beautiful #Bilbao 1) Plaza Moyua 2) Fan zone 3) San Mames 4) Riverside in Casco Viejo #LEIvR92 #rterugby #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/y2UrAhoTrR
— Michael Glennon (@MicilGlennon) May 10, 2018
Of course, the Blues brigade have arrived in force too with many more expected today and on day trips tomorrow.
It's not all fun and games though and for security reasons the good people in the Town Hall have decreed that all the outdoor terrazas (seating areas) around San Mames close down three hours before kick-off tonight and tomorrow.
Within the stadium itself there's no bar service from 15 minutes before kick-off until 15 minutes after. There's a novel idea. It would never catch on at the Aviva.
Topa!
Follow Leinster versus Racing 92 in the Champions Cup final via our live blog on RTÉ.ie and the News Now App from 4pm, or listen to live coverage on RTÉ Radio 1 as Saturday Sport comes from Bilbao.
