The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (BBK) announced this week its plans for next year’s UEFA European Men’s Football Championship. The BBK wants to ensure safety at the mega event in Germany with various measures.
Federal warning system for all venues
“We are all looking forward to a successful European Championship in 2024. So that everyone can enjoy the tournament without hesitation, Germany must also be well positioned off the pitch.”, explains BBK President Ralph Tiesler. In crisis situations, the BBK must react quickly and warn the population. According to the Federal Office, all UEFA Euro 2024 venues will use the federal warning system.
In the event of a disaster, warnings are sent immediately on all channels via the Modular Warning System (MoWaS). The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) has made a total of 209,000 euros available to equip the venues with the necessary technology.
Today your cell phone rings at 11 a.m. – disaster warning day
Emergency services are trained
The Federal Academy for Civil Protection and Civil Defense (BABZ), which is part of the BBK, has already developed a special training program in 2022 in preparation for UEFA Euro 2024. The emergency services were trained in the areas of risk and crisis management, leadership and staff theory, and psychosocial crisis management, among other things.
Make confident decisions under stress
Most recently, training courses on dangerous situations and disaster situations took place in Frankfurt and Berlin. Additional exercises are planned this year in Leipzig, Munich and Dortmund. In April there will be another five final exercises in Cologne, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Gelsenkirchen and Düsseldorf. The BBK is also planning a cross-city preparation workshop in November. Findings from the 2006 FIFA World Cup were incorporated into the planning and implementation of the courses. According to the BBK, it is important to ensure safe decision-making even under stress.
Medical task forces take care of the injured
There are also 61 medical task forces (MTF) across Germany that are prepared for all medical emergencies. These groups are actually intended for civil defense, but they can also be used at Euro 2024. Each task force has 138 emergency services who are specialized in caring for many injured people at the same time in the event of a disaster. There will also be an exercise here under extreme conditions in spring 2024, with 150 injured and two MTF units.
