unittest setUpClass alternative for python < 2.7

In Python 2.7, it is possible to run class level setup in unittest.Testcase as follows:

class ClassName(unittest.TestCase):
    @classmethod
    def setUpClass(self):
        print 'Some class level setup'

Unfortunately, I need to run some tests in Python 2.6 environment. What is the alternative for setUpClass in that version?