Before the final: 653,000 visitors celebrate a wonderful and peaceful football festival in the Fan Zone

'United by football. United in the heart of Europe' - this slogan was one hundred per cent true in our Fan Zone. It is the many wonderful encounters, the great atmosphere, the beautiful pictures and the togetherness that will be remembered in this Fan Zone. I'm thinking, for example, of the festive Scottish fans at the opening match of the European Championship, the last-minute fan party organised by the Romanian and Dutch fans before their team's match in the football arena, or the Dutch fan walk through the park,' says a delighted Marion Schöne, adding: 'It was noticeable that our audience was younger and more female than in the stadiums, and obviously very keen to celebrate a rollicking football party with us.'

Despite the weather, the crowds in the Fan Zone were bigger than expected. As a result, the Olympic Stadium had to be opened at short notice for the Germany and Munich matches on 2 July. The best-attended match was the quarter-final between Spain and Germany on 5 July, with a total of 53,000 in the Fan Zone (25,000) and the stadium (28,000). But fans also flocked to the Hans-Jochen-Vogel-Platz for non-German matches, such as the semi-final between Spain and France on 9 July, which attracted 25,000 spectators. ‚The last few days have clearly shown that people enjoy coming to the Olympic Park and love the atmosphere and ambience. The fact that the Fan Zone has been such a success is no coincidence, but is due to the great commitment and dedication of everyone involved, our OMG organising team, our service providers and partners, our caterer, the authorities, the medical services, the fire brigade and the police. It was only possible to organise this event over so many days and to fulfil such last-minute requests as the opening of the Olympic Stadium and the Orange Fan Walk. My heartfelt thanks for that,‘ said Marion Schöne.

The Fan Zone in figures:

• From 14 June to 11 July, 653,000 people visited the Olympic Park.
• Until Sunday, 50 UEFA EURO 2024 matches will be shown on three screens and occasionally on an additional screen in the Olympic Stadium. One match could not be shown due to weather conditions.
• The Fan Zone programme included a total of 250 programmes, not including the Euro matches.
• On non-match days, an average of more than 2,000 people attended the music and entertainment at Hans-Jochen-Vogel-Platz and the Seebühne.
• With the exception of one day when the programme was cancelled due to bad weather, the Fan Zone was in constant use.
• Approximately 200,000 litres of beer and - despite the free drinking fountains - 87,000 litres of soft drinks and water were sold. In terms of food, 52,300 sausages, around 23,200 portions of chips, 9,400 burgers, around 15,100 pretzels and around 12,400 vegetarian and vegan dishes were ordered.
• More than 600 volunteers from the Munich chapter of the German Red Cross spent around 6,300 hours helping out on more than 850 occasions.
• The Bavarian Football Association counted more than 6,000 active players on the pitch, 40,000 visitors took part in the hands-on activities around the pitch and around 42,000 fans were reached and informed about football in Bavaria at the BFV information stands.
• The MucAware awareness teams provided around 950 support services in the fan zone. The majority of the services included basic supplies for fans, including circulatory stabilising items such as drinking cups, electrolyte and muesli bars, hearing protection and women's night taxi vouchers. Supporters were also assisted with their physical condition (e.g. excessive alcohol consumption). Support was provided in a total of five cases of sexualised, racist and homophobic, trans* or inter* attacks.

Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter also expressed his satisfaction with UEFA EURO 2024 in Munich: 'It may not have been the summer fairytale that many had hoped for, but the way the German team performed had an incredibly positive effect far beyond football. And as far as the tournament as a whole is concerned, I am happy to say that EURO 2024, with its six matches in Munich, has gone extremely well. Hundreds of thousands of fans celebrated a joyful and, above all, peaceful football festival with us, not only in the stadium and the Olympic Park, but all over the city. But all these guests had to be informed, accommodated, looked after and, above all, transported. I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone involved in ensuring that everything went so safely and smoothly - first and foremost our MVG with the mobility department, the police, the fire brigade and the KVR, the Olympic Park and, of course, the host city organisers from the Department of Education and Sport together with 1,600 volunteers. Their extraordinary commitment and outstanding teamwork ensured that our city was able to present itself as a cosmopolitan and sport-loving host.