| The draw has been made: Since a few moments ago, it is clear who will face whom in the group stage of UEFA EURO 2024. The Final Draw for the European Football Championship took place in the Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall, Hamburg – and impressively in the Port of Hamburg: in a unique event, the draw was recreated simultaneously by Hamburg port workers using colourful nation containers. The installation, which will also be permanently displayed in the coming days, links the City of Hamburg with the tournament: The first highlight of EURO 2024 took place at the River Elbe.
25 Containers, plus twelve reach stackers (container stackers), each weighing 70 tons, and 70 port employees and one spectacular result. A structure 12 metres high, built from containers, turns the Final Draw of UEFA EURO 2024 into an impressive experience for the whole of Europe. Using containers designed in the flags of the participating nations, the group draw was simultaneously recreated in a spectacular fashion. This led to the creation of the six eye-catching container towers, that will remain at the O’Swaldkai terminal in Hamburg until 10 December 2023.
Countdown to EURO 2024: Hamburg looks forward to a top-class football festival
With this impressive installation, Hamburg not only presents itself as the venue for the Final Draw, but also as one of ten German host cities where the tournament will take place from 14 June to 14 July. Five matches will be played in Hamburg’s Volkspark Stadium in front of around 50,000 spectators. In June, seven nations will compete against each other in the group matches there. The first match will be between Playoff-Winner A and the Netherlands on 16 June. This will be followed by Croatia against Albania on 19 June, Playoff-Winner C against Czechia on 22 June and Czechia against Türkiye on 26 June. Thus, Czechia will play twice in Hamburg and bring many fans with them. On July 5, spectators can look forward to an exciting quarter-final match.
Alongside the tournament, there will also be a central Fan Zone for football friends of all nations in the legendary entertainment district on the Reeperbahn. The Football Village on the Heiligengeistfeld invites fans and interested parties and offers sporting activities together with a wide range of cultural and entertainment programmes. The Germany matches and other exciting fixtures from the tournament will be shown at a public viewing for up to 40,000 spectators. There will also be a Fan Arena where concerts and tournaments from top-level and amateur sports will take place. More information at www.hamburg-tourism.de/euro-2024.
The container installation has the backing of Hamburg Marketing GmbH with executive support from UNIKAI Lagerei- und Speditionsgesellschaft mbH and LOTUS Containers GmbH. |
