EURO 2024: Germany's unprecedented security plan

Ensuring the safety of fans and players will be a huge task for Germany, as the country hosts EURO 2024 this summer.

The UEFA Euro 2024 logo at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

Organizers have drawn up plans to deal with a range of threats, including fanatics, potential terrorist attacks and even cyber-attacks. “Security has been our top priority from the start,” said EURO 2024 director Philipp Lahm.

German security forces will be tasked with protecting around 2.7 million fans at 24 team bases across the country and 10 stadiums - where 51 matches will take place from June 14 to July 14.

In an unprecedented move, Germany has invited around 300 security experts from all countries competing at EURO 2024 to participate in a monitoring project at the International Police Cooperation Centre (IPCC) in the western German city of Neuss. The group will work in rotation with German authorities, Europol and UEFA to monitor the security situation during the tournament. Their working space is a 500-square-meter conference room equipped with 129 computers and a 40-square-meter screen.

Explaining this, IPCC Director Oliver Strudthoff said: “Each country knows its own origin better than any other country. Therefore, having foreign experts present in Neuss will help identify these elements more quickly. The size of the security delegation will depend on the number of fans and their potential level of danger. For example, the UK will have more representatives than Switzerland.”

All police forces must remain on standby and will not be allowed to take leave during EURO 2024.

Germany will also apply security control measures at the entire border area it shares with nine neighboring countries: Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

“On trains and at stations, the federal police will have a visible increased presence,” a spokesman for the German Interior Ministry said. French gendarmes will join forces with German police to patrol railways on routes to and from France, as well as at matches involving the French team.

The UK government said more than 1,600 fans from England and Wales - who have been banned from stadiums due to violent behaviour - will be banned from travelling to Germany during the tournament.

In addition to standard measures, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser also confirmed that security for the Ukrainian national team will be increased.

Between 800 and 1,300 police officers will be deployed around the stadiums during each match, depending on the teams competing. To prevent anyone from bringing weapons or explosives into the stadium, three security perimeters will be set up around each stadium, with car and bag checks and ticket checks in place.

Security in fan zones is also seen as a major challenge for the host country. Around 12 million visitors are expected to visit Germany during EURO 2024. The largest fan zone is located near Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, which will welcome tens of thousands of visitors during matches. According to Johannes Saal, a security expert at the University of Lucerne, these “soft targets” are more vulnerable, as “bad actors can easily infiltrate and act”.

The German military will also monitor the airspace from the National Aviation Security Center, about 70 km from the IPCC. The use of drones will be closely monitored and their operations will also be restricted.

“Major sporting events are always a target for terrorist attacks,” said Saal, adding that the security situation is “very tense” amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip and the ever-present threat of Islamic extremism.

Source