The fan mile with artificial turf around the Brandenburg Gate.
© dpa
Although football is the main focus, it should not be the only fun factor. An entertainment and cultural program with more than 100 free events will accompany the European Championships in Berlin.
The center of the events are the two fan areas at the Brandenburg Gate and in front of the Reichstag. However, performances are also planned in other parts of the city.
The srrounding program of the UEFA Euro 2024 will include numerous concerts, DJ sets, dance performances, readings, exhibitions and five summer movie events with football films throughout Berlin. There will be a total of 250 hours of program in the fan zones alone. The event will start with an opening show at the Brandenburg Gate on June 12, with performances by Luciano, Alvaro Soler, Elif and Leony. Admission is free.
Berlin's Senator for Culture Joe Chialo (CDU) spoke of a "summer of football culture" when presenting the program on Tuesday. Interior and Sports Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) said: "It will be the summer we all want." The newly designed fan area with the 63 meter wide and 40 ton symbolic soccer goal in front of the Brandenburg Gate and the artificial turf is already "amazing". With the elaborate installation, Berlin wants to present itself visually at the European Championships and promote the city. "We have built an image," said Moritz van Dülmen, head of Kulturprojekte Berlin.
The approximately 83 million euros that the European Championships cost the state of Berlin are "money well spent". The costs for the fan miles with the cultural program were estimated at 23 million euros. Berlin cultural institutions such as the Humboldt Forum, the State Opera, the Berliner Festspiele, the Hamburger Bahnhof, the Literaturhaus and the Ballhaus Wedding are organizing special programmes on soccer and fan culture.
From June 14, all 51 European Championship matches will be shown on large screens in the smaller fan zone in front of the Reichstag. On the main stage in front of the Brandenburg Gate, 14 or 15 matches will be shown on a 24 x 12 meter screen: the three German preliminary round matches, the three preliminary round matches and the round of 16 in Berlin, possibly a further round of 16 match with German participation and the seven matches from the quarter-finals to the final on 14 July in Berlin.
Between 50,000 and 100,000 spectators are expected in the fan areas on very busy days, and many thousands on other days without big matches. According to UEFA, there is space for 60,000 people at the Brandenburg Gate and on Straße des 17. Juni, and for 10,000 people in front of the Reichstag. More is not possible, even with the space available, said van Dülmen. Figures from previous fan miles for the World Cup or European Championships of supposedly one million visitors were no longer to be repeated. There will be food and drink stands, rest areas, free drinking water, sun protection, environmental protection, security guards and bag checks. Opening hours on all 31 days of the European Championships: 2 p.m. to midnight.