European Football Championship 2024: What fans can expect during the tournament

The men’s European football championship starts on Friday. The tournament lasts four weeks and will put football in a state of emergency in Germany. The games will be played in ten stadiums in Berlin, Munich, Dortmund, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Gelsenkirchen, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. There will also be excitement in fan zones and at public viewings, in pubs and beer gardens across Germany. What football fans should bear in mind:

Where is the game played – and are there still tickets available?

The European Championship begins on June 14 in Munich with the match between Germany and Scotland, followed by another 50 matches until the final on July 14 in Berlin. Tickets are no longer available; according to the European football association UEFA, all games are sold out.

If there are any remaining tickets for matches in the final round that come back onto the market, for example due to the elimination of national teams, UEFA will make them available later on its official European Championship website. As the organizer, the association expressly advises against purchases on the secondary or black market. Tickets not purchased officially do not guarantee entry into the stadiums.

UEFA also explicitly warns against fraud with fake tickets. Paper tickets or printouts of e-tickets are no longer available for the European Championships; all tickets only exist digitally in the official UEFA ticket app. If paper tickets are offered anywhere, it is therefore an attempt at fraud.

Where are the games shown on TV?

There’s almost nothing to stop you from enjoying football on your sofa at home – the vast majority of games are shown on free TV and live streamed for free. The broadcasting rights are owned by Telekom subsidiary Magenta TV, which has granted sublicenses to the major free-to-air broadcasters ARD, ZDF and RTL.

Magenta TV reserves five games exclusively for its own paying subscribers – four group games and one round of 16. All other games can be seen on free TV. This includes all games of the German national team that are shown by either ARD or ZDF. If the team advances, this also applies to all German games in the main round.

It is also already certain that the semifinals and the final will also be broadcast by ZDF or ARD. With the exception of the round of 16, which will be broadcast exclusively by Magenta TV, all of the round of 16 matches and the quarterfinals without German participation will be shown on free TV. The broadcasters also offer live streams, and ARD also offers audio reports of the games.

What about fan miles and fan zones?

As with previous tournaments, many people will watch the games together with others on fan miles or at public viewings. The federal government expects a total of up to twelve million visitors to such events during the European Championships. In host cities and other large cities, there are often large, free fan zones with game broadcasts on large screens, sometimes with a colorful supporting program.

In Berlin, for example, a fan zone is being set up at the Brandenburg Gate and along Straße des 17. Juni. The city expects up to 130,000 visitors there on match days. The area also includes a public viewing area at the nearby Reichstag. In Hamburg, a so-called fan zone is opening on the Heiligengeistfeld, also with public viewing, with a total capacity for 50,000 people.

Where there are no large public fan festivals, restaurateurs and other providers or clubs often fill the gap and offer public viewing – on a more or less large scale depending on the location and circumstances. The federal government relaxed noise protection regulations specifically for the European Championships to make evening outdoor broadcasts easier. Kick-off times for the European Championships are at 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

What should visitors be aware of in terms of safety?

The security measures are generally high and the security situation is considered tense. The authorities have announced a high police presence and entry checks are to be expected at fan festivals. Bags and sacks over a certain size are often prohibited. Organizers also advise planning for longer waiting times.

According to the organizers, specially trained helpers will be deployed in the larger fan zones out of concern for discriminatory and aggressive behavior. They are intended to provide low-threshold support to those affected in an emergency – and can be found in conspicuously marked so-called safe spaces.

There are also other risks: crowds and throngs of people are traditionally an invitation for pickpockets. According to the police, the usual behavioral tips apply. Visitors should only take as much money as necessary and keep valuables close to their body – if possible in locked inside pockets.