The great mass of European football, Euro 2024, begins this Friday. The atmosphere is festive in the German streets. But in the host country, it is already time to take stock. Competition is expensive, especially for the cities that host it. Explanations with our special correspondent.
It’s a bit of a sensitive subject to talk about the cost of the event before it has even started, but Germany has already exceeded the budget it had allocated for the organization by 66 million euros. We are talking about a total of 650 million euros. This is huge since it is entirely financed by the cities and the German state, and ultimately the taxpayer.
What is funded? There are several fan zones per city and there are ten cities which host the matches. But also the renovation of stadiums. In Berlin, for example, it is 25 million euros.
All this in a somewhat particular context. The Berlin Senate announced last week massive budget cuts in a number of public services, such as schools and hospitals. So obviously, the cost of the Euro is going badly.
It is necessary to relativize
Not everyone is a loser, there are necessarily profits made thanks to the Euro, particularly for traders, hoteliers and even bar managers.
For the city of Cologne for example, it is estimated that this should bring in around 25 million euros for all these traders and it is also an extraordinary tourist showcase for Germany whose tourism sector has had difficulty getting by. recover from the Covid crisis.
But even before the kick-off, the big winner of this Euro is already UEFA since between the tickets to access the stadium purchased by the supporters and the broadcasting rights which were purchased by TVs around the world , she will already earn at least one billion euros, which is the biggest profit she has ever made in the organization of one euro.
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