“EEuropean champions – you’ll never sing that song. With around three hours to go before England take on Denmark in their second game of Euro 2024, we find ourselves surrounded by thousands of red-shirted players in the healthy surroundings of Frankfurt’s Opera Square. Danish fans, overlooked by the magnificent Old Opera House, which was rebuilt in the 1970s after being destroyed by Allied bombs in 1944, have apparently been writing impressive repertoire that reference previous British defeats , these songs will be repeated throughout the day.
This time, they were aiming in our direction. This is probably not surprising as we were probably the only three England fans who decided to soak up the pre-match atmosphere in this part of town after making last minute arrangements to meet some old Danish friends who were traveling to Germany for the game.
Many Danes took great pleasure in reminding us of their unexpected victory at Euro 1992, when their team was selected as a substitute for Yugoslavia – former Arsenal midfielder John Janssen was among the crowd – — or insisting “they will never go home.” Everyone was very friendly and always ready for a chat: we were approached by a Danish supporter who was keen to know if we had heard of Croydon Athletic as his father owned it before selling it to Stormzy and ex-Crystal Palace Home non-league club last summer, striker Wilfried Zaha. Welcome to life in the Euro 2024 Fan Zone, where there’s never a dull moment.
The 2006 World Cup was a huge success with what was then called FIFA’s “Fans Feast” in 12 German host cities, so the opportunity to experience another tournament in Germany was not to be missed. While the weather can sometimes be unbearable during those golden weeks known as Sommermärchen (Summer Fairytale) 18 years ago, the fan zone is helping to create a similar feeling.
From the stunning backdrop of the Olympiastadion in Munich (I remember visiting the stadium in 2006 to watch Brazil defeat Ghana in the last 16 of the World Cup), to the huge public viewing areas at Schlossplatz and Heiligengeistfeld in Stuttgart and Hamburg respectively, they’ve done it Every match in the World Cup group stage is a major event, no matter where it is held.
Perhaps most striking was the number of expats in Germany who took to the streets to support their country of origin. Unsurprisingly, Turkish fans dominate here, but Albanian, Croatian and Georgian fans are also well represented.
FIFA estimates that around a quarter of the supporters who traveled to each city in 2006 had a ticket to the match, while the number of fans without tickets is expected to be even higher this time. Supporters from Hungary, Romania and Ukraine in particular packed fan zones when their teams played, and in Germany members of the Tartan Army were a common sight.
Germany’s location in the center of the continent certainly helps – it borders nine countries and has the infrastructure to accommodate 24 teams and their fans. We found supporters of 23 of these teams in one week, the only exception being Poland, who happened to be the first team eliminated on the day we returned to the UK.
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England fans got off to a shaky start in Gelsenkirchen ahead of their first game against Serbia but were on their best behavior in Frankfurt. They and their Danish supporters were praised by police for showing “peaceful solidarity in the streets”, with many heading to the 1.4km fan zone along the river bank. Perhaps some of the more experienced people remember what happened in Stuttgart in 2006 when nearly 400 supporters were banned from entering the city center after being arrested before England’s game against Ecuador.
It could be a challenge for organizers of the next British and Irish Championships to replicate the success of the German fan zone in four years. A 2,000-capacity stadium set up by Brighton for Euro 2024 has been criticized for resembling a “compound” with 15ft-high fences. Nine host cities including Belfast, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh and London are planning multiple “event zones”.
Some football fans in Germany have been camping out in the forest to avoid sharp increases in hotel prices, and they – and the owners of the country’s dream beer gardens – hope the weather forecast improves in the coming weeks. But the end of the group stage marks a new phase in the tournament, with teams and fans heading home. For anyone who has taken this trip, the memories will last a lifetime.
