Severe storms with thunderstorms and heavy rain have Germany firmly in their grip. This could have an impact on the European Championship games. Fan zones have already been closed or not opened at all.
All fan zones in North Rhine-Westphalia remained closed on Tuesday (June 18, 2024). Specifically, this affected the fan zones in Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, Cologne and Dortmund.
80,000 Turkish fans in Dortmund
The match between Turkey and Georgia will take place in the Dortmund stadium this evening (6 p.m., listen live in full). According to the German Press Agency, up to 80,000 Turkish fans will be in the city. Supporters who do not have tickets for the match in the 62,000-seat BVB stadium wanted to watch the match in the fan zone and the public viewing area at Westfalenpark. Both remain closed. In Düsseldorf, where there is no match on Tuesday, the two fan zones in the city center and on the banks of the Rhine can hold around 15,000 spectators.
Fanzone Berlin also closes
On Tuesday afternoon, the closure of the Berlin fan zones at the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag was also announced. “The safety of the visitors to the Fan Zones is our top priority. We are therefore keeping the Fan Zones closed today and asking everyone to stay safe at home.”said Moritz van Dülmen, managing director of the fan zone organizer Kulturprojekte Berlin.
Leipzig also closed
In the afternoon, UEFA finally announced that the fan zone in Leipzig would also be closing. The match between Portugal and the Czech Republic will take place in the Saxon city (from 9 p.m., via live stream). According to the current plan, it should reopen at 7 p.m., but the city, police and fire brigade are in constant communication and are initially waiting to see how the weather develops.
Weather service warns of severe thunderstorms
The German Weather Service issued an advance warning for North Rhine-Westphalia for the midday hours. From the afternoon and into the night, some heavy thunderstorms are to be expected, which may develop into severe storms locally. There is also a risk of heavy rain, lightning and strong gusts of wind. The weather service is warning of heavy thunderstorms in Saxony in the early evening.
If the game is abandoned, the game will be played the following day
Should a European Championship match have to be abandoned, for example the one between Turkey and Georgia in rainy Dortmund on Tuesday evening, there are clear rules as to what happens next:
The remaining minutes of play would be made up the following day, normally in the same stadium. If that is not possible, UEFA can also choose an alternative arena – as close as possible to the original match venue. The teams then resume the game where it was interrupted. If, for example, the referee blew the whistle before a corner, the match would be restarted with a corner.
Euro 2012 and World Cup 1974 – unforgettable rain showers
Bad weather has affected matches on several occasions in the history of major football tournaments. At the 2012 European Championship, the match between co-hosts Ukraine and France on June 15 had to be interrupted for more than an hour because a severe thunderstorm hit Donetsk.
The “Water Battle of Frankfurt” at the 1974 World Cup is also unforgettable. Before the semi-final between Germany and Poland, a torrential downpour caused 14 litres of rain per square metre to fall. The match kicked off despite large puddles on the pitch. Germany won 1:0, and the favoured Poles later spoke of “irregular conditions”.