Western events restricted due to safety apprehensions
Bad luck for soccer enthusiasts in Dortmund, Duesseldorf, and Cologne: The fan zones for the Euro Cup will stay shut today. The cause: Severe thunderstorms with immense rainfall possibilities, forming. The German Meteorological Service (DWD) is alerting about tornadoes and hail.
Due to the approaching storm in western Germany, the official fan zones in the Euro Cup locations Duesseldorf, Dortmund, and Gelsenkirchen will be closed today, Tuesday. The cities announced this. The German Meteorological Service (DWD) is warning locally of partly heavy thunderstorms with immense rainfall possibilities, predicted to form from noon onwards from the west and have already hit parts of southwestern Germany.
In its report, the DWD states a "severe thunderstorm situation with danger of locally larger hail up to 2-5 cm, strong wind gusts or hurricane-force winds, as well as heavy rain". In the west and the heart of Germany, "isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out".
"Fan Safety is Paramount"
"In light of fan safety for everyone, the host city coordination committee has decided to shut down the fan zones," wrote the city of Duesseldorf. The city of Cologne also cancelled all events related to the Euro Cup: "We hope to celebrate together again on the coming Wednesday! Stay safe!" In North Rhine-Westphalia, matches will take place in Duesseldorf, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, and Cologne.
On Tuesday, one of the two matches in NRW occurs: In Group F, Turkey meets Georgia in Dortmund at 6:00 pm (RTL and Magenta TV). At 9:00 pm (ARD and Magenta TV and both in the Liveticker on ntv.de), Portugal with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo enters the tournament against the Czech Republic in Leipzig.
"Fans without a ticket are specifically urged not to head to Dortmund," wrote the city of Dortmund, where not only the Fan-Zone at Friedensplatz but also the Public Viewing in Westfalenpark will remain closed. "Dortmund was eagerly anticipating a massive fan party with tens of thousands of Turkish and Georgian fans in the city and had prepared for it," said Martin Sauer, representative of the city of Dortmund for the Euro 2024. "Fan safety in our city is our top priority."
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Despite the cancellation of fan zones in Dortmund and Duesseldorf due to extreme weather warnings from the German Weather Service, the European Football Championship 2024 matches will still take place. On Tuesday, Turkey faces Georgia in Dortmund at 6:00 pm, and Portugalematches the Czech Republic in Leipzig at 9:00 pm. Despite the closure of fan zones, Dortmund encourages fans without tickets to stay away from the city, prioritizing fan safety over the fan party.
