Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of sports fans – the classic, the so-called “king of sports”, as well as all kinds of team and individual sports – have made a date in Europe for this summer.
In the next period, after all, the capitals of the two largest and most powerful countries on our continent, Germany and France, will be at the center of global interest: starting with Berlin, which (along with nine other German cities) will host one month – from June 14 to July 14 – the final phase of the European Football Championship (Euro 2024).
He takes over immediately after Paris, where the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games will take place on July 26, and will last until the closing ceremony, scheduled for August 11.
Summer with spectacle and emotions
Undoubtedly, this is a summer that promises an impressive spectacle and intense emotions, fierce competition and records from the super athletes of our time. As well as an income package for those who have invested in the sports, tourism and advertising industry, who expect not only to make a full return, but also to fill their coffers.
Much more so as to these two top competitions were added the ones that take place every year on European soil, bringing down the curtain on the most important leagues at a collective level: the Champions League final at the legendary Wembley in London, the corresponding Europa League finals and the Conference League in Dublin and Athens (OPAP Arena) respectively, as well as the Final Four of the Euroleague basketball, also in Berlin.
Three reasons
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there. And this is because the European governments and the competent staffs, especially of the states that have taken over the major events, have at least three reasons to sit on hot coals:
1. The threat of the climate crisis, which is causing more and more frequent heatwaves (and sometimes floods) and making the atmosphere stifling, even for professional athletes.
2. The specter of terrorism, as it is obvious that major sporting events with crowds of spectators are a “paradise” for would-be perpetrators.
3. And, finally, the action of the hooligans, who every now and then find a way to slip out of the mesh of measures designed to suppress them, as demonstrated by what happened this weekend in Berlin (Euroleague Final Four) and in Lille ( French Cup Final).
Multiple challenges
- So how ready are the rulers and their staffs to face the multiple challenge before them?
- To what extent can they achieve this without taking measures that would alter the very character of the above sporting events, as well as the principles invoked by the states that organize them?
- And does it all depend on the decisions they make and how they implement them, or do some of the possible scenarios, such as the possibility of a prolonged and unprecedented heat wave, exceed their capabilities?
By the end of the summer we will certainly know the answers to the above questions, as well as to many that are still being asked. Hoping, obviously, that what will happen in the coming months will not bring us closer to the dystopian future that is increasingly appearing in the distance of the horizon.
Struggle for the “use” of meteorologists
2024 may not yet have reached its midpoint, but indications are mounting that it may end up being the hottest year in the planet’s modern history. Already, according to data from the European meteorological service Copernicus, this year’s February was the warmest of all previous ones and, at the same time, the ninth month in a row that the relative record has been broken. Especially, in Europe during the quarter of December – February the average temperature on the surface of the ground was 1.44 degrees Celsius higher compared to the current average, with the result that the winter that passed was the second warmest in history after that of 2019-2020.
Similar concerns prevail in Berlin ahead of Euro 2024, even if the German capital is considered less threatened by the climate crisis compared to Paris. It is no coincidence that last summer’s heatwave forced Health Minister Karl Lauterbach to admit that the country is not properly prepared to deal with high temperatures. Obviously, after all, the threat does not only concern the football players, but also the hundreds of thousands of spectators who will be in the country, many of whom will be forced to stay in accommodation that does not have proper air conditioning.
Looking for bombs and kamikaze
France and especially Paris, moreover, have bitter experience in the matter of terrorist threats: 2015 began with the attack on the offices of the satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” – where the attackers executed in the name of “revenge” for the insult against the Prophet Mohammed – and the three-day bloody manhunt that followed, which ended with the massacre of 130 people in the Bataclan theater and the surrounding streets, as well as the Stade de France stadium, where the friendly soccer match between the national teams of France and Germany was being played and the this summer the heart of world athletics will beat. A year later it was Berlin’s turn to experience terror during a festive season: It was December 19, 2016, when a truck turned into a death machine in the central Christmas market as its driver drove it into unsuspecting citizens, killing 12 and injuring more than 50.
They are taking action in Paris
With the memories of what tragically happened in those (not so distant) two years still alive and Europe now experiencing a new period of heightened racial and religious antagonisms, the governments of France and Germany are rushing to take measures to prevent relive similar scenes.
So, ahead of the hot sporting summer – and even more so after the recent deadly attack in Moscow, for which ISIS claimed responsibility – they have raised the alert level, increasing border controls and looking for terrorist cells and “lone wolves”. inside.
In fact, Paris has reportedly already reached out to 46 countries for expertise and assistance, while serious consideration is being given to moving the Games’ opening ceremony from the banks of the Seine to the less spectacular, but much safer (comparatively) surroundings of the Stade de France or Trocadero.
“Zero tolerance for violence is our main goal”
Against this background, thousands of members of the security and law enforcement forces have been participating since the beginning of the year in simulation exercises to deal with extended incidents in an urban environment, based on various scenarios worked out by their staffs. “Zero tolerance to violence is our main goal,” said one of the officers who has a staff role in Euro security.
At the same time, information from Britain – which is a permanent blight on the level of hooliganism – states that the government has already issued an exit ban for 1,600 people who are believed to be involved in fanatical cells.
In fact, as the competition season approaches, it is possible that the above number will increase further. “The specific measures will ensure that real football fans will go safely to the tournament, while at the same time they will prevent hooligans from committing their crimes abroad,” the minister in charge emphasized in his statements, noting that there is close cooperation with the Authorities of Germany and other countries. Nevertheless, of course, those who jump to the conclusion that everything will go smoothly run the risk of being painfully disproved.
