For a whole month, the UEFA EURO 2024 championship turned Stuttgart into Europe’s soccer capital. True to the motto “The whole city is a stadium,” the city center’s public squares – Schlossplatz, Marktplatz, Karlsplatz, and Schillerplatz – were transformed into fan zones that wowed thousands of fans from all over Europe. The client was in.Stuttgart Veranstaltungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, the city of Stuttgart’s event management company.

The goal was to showcase Stuttgart as a cosmopolitan, welcoming city and to host an unforgettable soccer festival for fans from all over the world. This meant concentrating on values such as the culture of hospitality, a sense of community, and long-term sustainability.

The highly complex project was the result of more than three years of preparation. It affected the entire city center, requiring detailed negotiations with local authorities, the police, fire departments, public transport operators, retailers, and many other partners. What’s more, UEFA’s strict corporate design guidelines and rigorous safety and security requirements had to be met. And because the identity of the teams playing in Stuttgart was only confirmed after the draw, flexibility throughout the championship was essential.

In Stuttgart, POOLgroup played key roles in planning and implementation and, at the same time, seconded a member of staff to be Head of the Safety Department. As a result, POOLgroup was responsible for developing and coordinating the safety and infrastructure plans for the fan zones and meeting points.

POOLgroup was technology supplier for all the public squares and directed stage management at Schlossplatz. In addition, it designed and implemented the accreditation process and equipped the Host City Operation Center with key infrastructure.

Developing crowd plans for the entire city center was another key focus. These took into account relevant superstructures, the activities of sponsors, and wayfinding systems, as well as managing the ‘last kilometer’ to reliably guide visitor flows through the city.

The POOLgroup installed and maintained the entire range of event technology – lighting, audio, video and media technology – in the fan zones and meeting points. In addition, the crew oversaw the creation of graphics conforming to UEFA corporate identity and produced on-screen graphical content.

Almost 900,000 people visited Stuttgart’s fan zones and meeting points. Live screenings, music, hands-on experiences, and catering vans contributed to the four-week festival’s friendly, celebratory, and international feel. Press and politicians praised both the whole atmosphere and flawless organization.

The UEFA EURO 2024 celebrations in Stuttgart were a complete success in sporting, social, and economic terms. The championship contributed €369 million to the local economy as well as €37 million in media exposure and €6 million in social benefits, demonstrating that Stuttgart and its partners are capable of sustainably delivering a major project of this caliber.