IBC zest and zing to Euro 2024 in Germany

Article posted by Coliseum, December 28^th, 2020

Image: DFB

Media injects zest and zing into any global sporting event. For Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Euro 2024, all eyes will be on Leipziger Messe from where the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) will operate and all broadcasting activities relating to UEFA Euro 2024 will be run from here.

During the tournament, the IBC will be the centerpiece for all media partners of UEFA Euro 2024 and thus the “gateway to Germany” for all media professionals. A decision in this regard was taken by UEFA recently.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is the administrative body for association football, futsal and beach soccer in Europe.

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The International Broadcast Centre (IBC) is a temporary hub for broadcasters during major sport events.

Germany is scheduled to host the soccer spectacle from June 14^th to July 14^th, 2024. It would be the third time that European Championship matches are played in the German terrain and the second time in reunified Germany. The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as simply Euro 2024, will be the 17^th edition of the UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men’s football championship of Europe organized by UEFA.

The Leipzig Trade Fair or Leipziger Messe is a major trade fair which traces its roots back for nearly a millennium. After the Second World War, Leipzig fell within the territory of East Germany, whereupon the Leipzig Trade Fair became one of the most important trade fairs of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon) and was traditionally a meeting place for businessmen and politicians from both sides of the Iron Curtain. Since 1996, the fair has taken place on the Leipzig fairgrounds, located about seven kilometers North of the City center.

In the summer of 2019, a transparent and open tendering process was started, at the end of which the trade fair City emerged from five applicants as the location with the best conditions. The German Football Association (DFB) supported UEFA in the selection process.

Martin Kallen, CEO, UEFA Events SA, explains, “Leipzig offers excellent conditions and the trade fair has made an attractive and modern site available. The IBC is crucial for the images of UEFA Euro 2024 to reach the world. And, therefore, we are happy that we can announce the decision in such an important key position today. We would like to thank the DFB and our partners in the host cities for an excellent tendering process on which we will now base the further planning.”

Philipp Lahm, Managing Director, DFB Euro GmbH, noted, “Leipzig is not only a historically significant center of Germany, but also a City where both professional and amateur football are very important. I was able to see that on the host City tour personally. The City is an extremely good symbol for the goals we are pursuing. UEFA made a very good choice in Leipzig.”

DFB EURO GmbH is the joint venture of German Football Association (DFB) and the UEFA founded in 2019 at Frankfurt am main, Germany, for the organization of Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 GmbH.

Leipzig’s Lord Mayor Burkhard Jung remarked, “The sports press from all over the world will be reporting on the EM from Leipzig in 2024. We are very happy to host the media that carry the games from Germany all over the world, into the living room at home and to the garden parties, the bars and the public viewing. Of course, football also lives from the fans at home on the screens. The UEFA decision is a huge success for our trade fair and the City of Leipzig.”

Martin Buhl-Wagner, Managing Director, Leipziger Messe, elucidated, “It is a great pleasure for us that we are part of the UEFA Euro 2024. The Leipziger Messe is the perfect location for the International Broadcast Center. We have the very best conditions for that infrastructure and the service of such a large media center. We look forward to the media representatives and welcome them warmly today.”

The ten venues – Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart – of the flagship tournament were able to declare their interest to DFB EURO GmbH in advance and without any legal obligation as to whether they would like to provide the location for the IBC of UEFA Euro 2024, and thus join in the planned selection process.

A corresponding invitation including the basic requirements for the IBC for UEFA Euro 2024 was then sent. The cities submitted binding offers for possible locations, which were then inspected on site for technical and organizational reasons.

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