UEFA Euro 2024
Final
England v Spain
Olympiastadion Berlin
Berlin, Germany
14 Jul 2024
The Final programme is excellent with 98 pages of gloss and colour, plus a special feature on the 2 teams and their routes to the Olympic Stadium in Berlin for the final of Euro 24
ESTC tickets for this game were in high demand with a final allocation of 10,295 (295 above the expected total) and 3368 of these seats were available as Fans First tickets priced at 95 Euros. A total of 14,763 members had pre-registered for this game so just under a third would miss out. The only option for many were touts and 3rd party ticket sites. Someone I know from work actually paid £1700 for his ticket
The Olympic Stadium is a historical venue which was built for the 1936 Olympics when the hosts were Nazi Germany and Jesse Owens famously won the 100m. It has an all seater capacity of 74,475 and boasts the 2nd largest capacity in Germany. It had the highest capacity for the Euros, having only been reduced to 71,000. The stadium has hosted many important games over the years, including 3 Group games at the 1974 FIFA World Cup (West Germany 1 Chile 0, Chile 1 v East Germany 1, Australia 0 Chile 0). At the 2006 FIFA World Cup it hosted 4 Group Stage matches (Ecuador 0 Germany 3, Sweden 1 Paraguay 0, Brazil 1 Croatia 0 and Ukraine 1 Tunisia 0); in the Knockout Phase it hosted the Quarter Final between Germany and Argentina (1:1 and 4:2 on pens) and the Final between Italy and France (1:1 and 5:3 on pens). It also held the 2015 Champions League Final between Juventus and Barcelona (1:3).
During Euro 24 the Olympic Stadium Berlin hosted 3 Group games: Spain v Croatia (3-0), Poland v Austria (1-3) and Holland v Austria (2-3). During the Knockout Phase it hosted the Round of 16 match between Switzerland and Italy (0-2), the Quarter Final between Holland and Turkey (2:1) and the Final between England and Spain (1-2)
Attendance: 65,600
It is only fitting that we have Ollie Watkins on the 191st front cover and that it is laced with gold trim, signifying the Three Lions' first ever final on foreign soil
Day 1: Arriving at Berlin Hbf and collecting Sue
On the way to my digs at NH Berlin on Potsdamer Platz I passed the Anhalter Bahnof which was destroyed during WWII. It was one of 3 stations used to deport Jews between 1941-45. Jews from here were transported in normal railway carriages (not freight wagons). From Anhalter they went to Theriesienstadt in Czechoslovakia and then onto the camps
After grabbing Sue from the airport, our first beer is in the 'Line 1 Bar' located in the house pictured above. It was one of the first ever squats in Berlin, named after Tommy Weisbecker, an anarchist who was shot dead by the Police in 1972 for his links to the '2 June Movement'. This group were a far left anarchist group which merged with the Red Army Faction and had links to the IRA.
The social club is in this block near the Peace Column
The 2nd bar is Zum Frosch (to the Frog)
As hunger kicks in we search for a place to eat
You just cannot beat Halb Hanchen mitt pommes and washed down with a good German bier
Day 2: My Birthday.
After changing accommodation we enter the gates to our yard
Just before the front door is the 'Wailing Wall Memorial' which is dedicated to the then 25 year old Michael Bittner, shot dead by 2 DDR border guards on 24 Nov 1986 whilst trying to escape to the West. His mother was never given the body or even his urn and the burial place remains unknown
The apartment is located in Scheunenviertal (Barn Quarter) which is within the district of Spandauer Vorstadt. It is of historical importance because of the many inter-connecting court yards which used to be the old Jewish 'slum' neighbourhood during the 1880's - 1940's
Inside the AirBnB we have Suzy's Bar
.....and mannikins in the loft
Under the Limes
Equestrian Statue of Frederick the Great
Taking the baby for a ride
Ampelmann is Berlin's iconic two traffic light men
Stopping for a photo opportunity on Unter den Linden
The Brandenburg during Euro 24
Selfie time 😍
Hoping for a victory parade at the Brandenburg Gate
The impossible photo
The aristocracy have arrived at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski
Stopped for a beer and some nibbles at the world famous hotel which has been graced by many celebrities and world leaders, including Kaiser Wilhelm II, Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, the last tzar of Russia and Adolf Hitler . Today, the Euro 24 officials have made it home
It is also infamous as the hotel where Michael Jackson once dangled a baby from a window
On our way back home we get caught in a storm and had to run to the DDR Museum for some culture
The first exhibit that takes my eye is the table soccer display depicting East Germany's 1:0 victory over West Germany in the Group Stages of the 1974 World Cup Final in Hamburg
This is a model of Palast Der Republik which hosted the Volkshammer, the parliament of East Germany. Following reunification it was demolished to be replaced by the reconstructed Berlin Palace which had formally occupied the same site and completed in 2020
Back to the historic barn courtyards (Hackesche Hofes) near our digs between Rosenthalerstrasse and Sophienstrasse. The area was impoverished and run down after WWII and during the DDR rule, but is now buzzing with life. The 8 courtyards are now one of Berlin's trendiest Night Life areas
Look who we bumped into, this birthday is just getting better
Lawrence about to have a blue rinse😁
Ann Frank Zentrum in the courtyard
Back to the Cinema Cafe
Sexy Sue
Birthday celebrations in the Vietnamese Street restaurant
Ching, ching
Happy Birthday to me
What a great day💖
Day 3: We start the day off at the New Synagogue on Orianburger Strasse.
This 158 year old Synagogue was set on fire by the Nazis on 9 November 1938 during Kristallnacht. During WWII it was destroyed in 1943 by an allied bombing raid. The front of God's house should remain a place of remembrance for all.
Never forget
A monument symbolising an empty room in a Jewish house following a struggle during a deportation raid
Throughout the Scheunenviertal you can see brass 'Stolpersteine' (stumbling stones). They are installed in front of former Jewish residences and show the names of the deported and the year and location of the deportation.
Sophienkirche is a baroque church built in 1712 and unlike many churches in Berlin, this is original and not reconstructed
The Parish House is scarred with bullet holes from the war. The Soviet Army had boots on the ground in 1945 and they took one building at a time
The Missing House monument - the building was never replaced following it's destruction in the war
East Side gallery at 1316 metres long is the longest open-air art gallery in the world. When the wall came down on 9 Nov 1989, 118 artists from 21 countries began painting.
'Hommage to the Young Generation' by Thierry Noir, 1990
Birgit Kinder's famous 'Test the Best', 1990
'The Wall' by Lance Keller, 1990
'Wall Jumper' by Gabriel Heimler, 1990
Kani Alavi's 'It Happened in November', 1990
'Doin it Cool for the Eastside' by Jim Avignon, 1990
Waiting for the River Spree boat cruise at East Side Gallery
All aboard to Schloss Bellevue
Behind us is the Oberaumbrucke
The TV Tower on Alexanderplatz peeping over the buildings
Cruising down the Spree
Have Warsteiner will travel - Prost!
Passing the Haus der Kulteren der Welt in Tiergarten Park
The Fanzone just in front of the Reichstag
Party Zone
The Reichstag is located on Platz der Republik and is the seat of power of the German Bundestag. It was formerly the centre of government for the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. In 1945 it was an important target for the Red Army during the Battle of Berlin
Posing on Schlossbrucke
Sue looking cool at the Berlin Dom
Berlin Cathedral in all of its glory
Exhausted we head back to the apartment
Day 4: Final of Euro 24
There's a man(akin) in my room
Significant research has gone into finding a suitable location for a pre-match drink. We opted for Spandau, a small Berlin town to the West of the Olympic stadium
Spandau has a Citadel
One of the best preserved Renaissance military structures of Europe. Fortunately the castle was surrendered to the Soviets in May 45 and avoided being reduced to rubble. After the war it was occupied by the Red Army but later handed to the British as it fell within the British Sector.
Climbing up the 13th Century Julius Tower
Sue and Craig
Sue's ticket is officially active
The magic just doesn't happen
Deano, me and a random
The walk from the U-Bahn to Gates
Sue has made it through the outer perimeter
Followed shortly by Big Steve
The inner perimeter will take more patience
This is what Sue thinks of it all
Getting closer
Security has been cleared we are going to the final
Yeh
Let's have it!
After spending 20 minutes queuing for a Berlin Stadium Magnet I have lost Sue
Hells Bells - The actual Olympic Bell from 1936 had survived a fire created 'accidentally' by Soviet troops in the Bell Tower. The building was so damaged that in 1947 British Engineers had to blow it up. The bell fell 77 meters and cracked, never to ring again. It now serves as a memorial
The two towers marking the entrance to the Olympic Stadium
Sue has bumped into Charlton Mark who is in our row
No issues getting to our seats and we have been graced with great views; all for 95 Euros
Rio Ferdinand is in the first box with that prick Lineker
Rio and Juan Mata coming to see the minions
2nd Euro Final in a row
No Pyro, No Party
Hey Jude
The anthems
The teams are lined up...
3, 2, 1
In the early stages of the 2nd Half, a slight improvement but the Spanish are totally dominant. It is looking ominous
2 minutes into the 2nd Half and Williams the wonderkid scores a great goal passed the stretching Jordan Pickford
At last Southgate uses the bench! 3 minutes later one of them (Cole Palmer) smashes the equaliser home following a good move and assist by Jude Bellingham in the 73rd
English optimism is rising
With the match now in the balance it was heart-breaking when Oyarzabal's 'off side goal' on 86 mins was allowed to stand
The Spanish are proven masters of time wasting and closing out a game, easily seeing themselves over the line. It was just not meant to be and to be fair the best team won
The game finishes 2:1 to Spain and the Spanish music is almost instantly playing around the stadium. The organisers must have had soundtracks for both eventualities
...or is it just an English fire drill
Oh well back to Spandau for a proper farewell to Euro 24,
may the memories live on forever
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