What's next for the European Championships?
DPA
· 22.08.2022
The great days of Munich are over. The last cheers in the Olympic Stadium for the track and field athletes have died down and the locals are back in the Olympic Park. At Königsplatz, the sand is cleared from the beach volleyball, the climbing walls are dismantled.
Eleven days of summer fairytale
The regatta course in Oberschleissheim is quiet. After eleven days of "summer fairytale" with European Championships in nine sports, the European Championships are moving on. Only where and, above all, with whom, nobody knows yet.
Birmingham and Budapest are considered candidates to host the 2026 event. Paul Bristow, co-founder and managing director of European Championships Management, said at the start of the sporting spectacle that it was "a discussion for the time after the European Championships" which associations would like to award their European Championship titles there as part of the European Championships.
The versatility works
At the second edition after 2018 - back then in Glasgow and Berlin - the multi-sport event showed how well it works. More than one million visitors, 400,000 tickets sold and strong TV ratings for ARD and ZDF - The versatility of sport has interested and fascinated people. The German successes - 50 years after the Olympic Games in Munich - also contributed to this.
"How good it is for all of us now that other sports are finally being shown," said beach volleyball player Karla Borger, who is also Chairwoman of the German Athletes' Association. "It's really important for us that this is shown and that people talk about how cool it is to do sport."
Great success for Team Germany
Sports such as climbing, beach volleyball, track cycling and triathlon attracted a wide audience in Munich. Climber Hannah Meul, runner-up at the European Championships in bouldering, attracted attention with her refreshing manner. The mixed triathlon relay team's chase to silver was cheered on by many on the Olympic hill, while the crowd roared Emma Hinze to three gold medals in the track cycling.
"We are very happy about this format. The sports fertilise each other. It's great for the spectators, but also for the athletes and coaches," said Sports Director Martin Veith from the German Alpine Association (DAV). The media attention is a benefit for everyone. "We would welcome more events in this format."
Question marks behind athletics
Some in athletics are not so enthusiastic. They see the prominent position of athletics in the summer sports being jeopardised. "As soon as the host city has been decided, we will address the issue in the European Association," said Jürgen Kessing, President of the German Athletics Association and Council member of the European Association EA. He believes that "under the impression that my colleagues on the Council in Munich have also gained, the discussion is completely open".
In two years' time in Rome, the European Athletics Championships will enjoy sole attention seven weeks before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris. At the European Championships four years ago, it had a unique selling point with Berlin as the venue.
Many in the swimming camp would welcome a return to the European Championships after the 2018 European Championships were held in Glasgow. "It would be great if swimming could be integrated again," said national coach Bernd Berkhahn at the European Championships in Rome. The European federation would probably find it difficult to get involved in the future, "because then a bit of power would be lost".
Event must also be economically worthwhile
Olympic Park Managing Director Marion Schöne made it clear that the European Championships cannot integrate an unlimited number of sports in one place. She emphasised at the end that Munich had reached its limits with nine different sports. And the event doesn't come for free either. The public sector contributed 100 million euros to the one and a half week "summer fairytale".
From a business perspective, however, it was money well spent. "The past eleven days of competition were good, long-term advertising for our business location and tourism in the region," said Peter Kammerer, Deputy Managing Director of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) for Munich and Upper Bavaria, according to a press release. Retailers, restaurants, hotels, the bus and taxi industry and souvenir stands all benefited from the high turnover generated by the delegations, fans and visitors.
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