Ten days before the start of the Euro 2024 in Germany, the nation's Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser has called for the tournament to be used as an opportunity to come together.
This is important, especially in these "times of external and internal threats," she said on Tuesday during a joint press conference with North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul.
Germany wants to be a good host, Faser said. It's about hopefully celebrating a "peaceful football festival." In a free society, there can never be 100% safety, but "we're doing our best," she said.
Reul mentioned the overall high workload for police forces during the June 14-July 14 tournament.
"It won't be a walk in the park," he said.
Four of the 10 venues are located in his state and in addition to the areas surrounding the venues, the teams and the fan zones, his police forces will also have to be present at a federal conference of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) far-right party in Essen.
The event will take place in the last weekend of June as a "little extra treat," Reul said, for which numerous counter-demonstrators have already been. North Rhine-Westphalia will probably need forces from other states.
"The security situation is tense," Faeser said.
Germany has seen a domestic political debate about security and the threat of extremist violence amid the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and with the far right poised to make significant gains in the upcoming European Parliament elections.
However, there are no concrete indications of planned attacks during the Euros. The tournament starts on June 14 when hosts Germany play against Scotland in Munich and the final on July 14 will be in Berlin.
