European Athletics Championships Zürich 2014 – a Shop Window for Athletics, in Switzerland and Abroad

During the European Athletics Championships Zürich 2014 (12 to 17 August), Zurich and Switzerland will be at the centre of attention in the world of sports. Visitors from Switzerland and abroad as well as local residents will be able to experience a unique international sporting festival which will attract worldwide attention.

In addition to the competitions at Letzigrund Stadium, the City Festival on Sechseläutenplatz and the House of Switzerland will be a magnet for visitors. The City and the Canton of Zurich as well as the Swiss Confederation support the event in a common effort to help ensure that Zürich 2014 will be a successful, sustainable, and unforgettable event.

Nine months prior to the championships, 45,400 day packages or 38 per cent of all stadium tickets available for purchase have already been sold. Fans from all parts of Switzerland and from abroad are determined to travel to Zurich to attend the competitions. One third of all tickets have been purchased by international fans, mostly from Germany, Great Britain, France. The championship promoters expect at least 5 000 international guests on each of the six days of competition.

As many as 2,000 volunteers have been recruited for the championships. 35 per cent of all volunteers are residents of the Zurich area, 49 per cent live in various parts of Switzerland, and 16 per cent live abroad, most of them in Germany.

A strong partner: the City of Zurich

The City of Zurich has been a strong and reliable partner of Zürich 2014. Back in 2009, the City had approved a deficit guarantee of up to 5 million Swiss francs. Only 3.3 million Swiss francs could come into effect, however, as the Swiss Confederation has since agreed to a contribution as well. The City of Zurich will also provide the championships with services and infrastructure at no charge. Training facilities and competition sites will be renovated in time for Zürich 2014.

“Zurich’s support for the championships will amount to 5.7 million Swiss francs overall,“ explained City Councillor Gerold Lauber on the occasion of a media conference at Letzigrund Stadium. “The championships will attract wide interest far beyond our city limits; they are a unique location marketing opportunity. In addition, we are excited that the promoters focus on sharing the event with the residents of our city,” Lauber added.

Top performances by the Canton of Zurich

Governing Councillor Mario Fehr agreed that the integrating approach Zürich 2014 promoters had taken was a key to success. “The Canton of Zurich has been infected by the competition fever of the championships’ potential participants. We try to keep up with their efforts and to shine with our own top performances,” said Mario Fehr, who heads the Canton’s Department of Security. The Canton of Zurich, just like the City of Zurich and the Swiss Confederation, supports Zürich 2014 with a deficit guarantee of 5 million Swiss francs. In addition, it will provide the event with civil protection services (3,000 man-days). Members of the Zurich civil protection services will support the organisers during the marathon and race walking events in the city centre, with constructing and dismantling temporary structures, and in the area of maintaining traffic safety.

In addition, the Canton of Zurich will allocate a substantial lottery fund contribution to the cultural events on Sechseläutenplatz, including the opera house video installation project. “Zürich 2014 is so much more than a sporting event: It will be a festival for all residents. Therefore, we wholeheartedly support these championships,” Fehr explained.

Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection, and Sport to provide services and financial support for national professional and leisure sports projects

The Zürich 2014 promoters can also count on the assistance of the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection, and Sport. Members of the Swiss Armed Forces and of civil protection services (by the Canton of Zurich) will help construct and dismantle temporary structures (5,400 man-days). In addition, the Federal Office for Sport will support the event with a one-time contribution of 3.3 million Swiss francs. This amount is to reduce the initial deficit guarantees approved by the City and the Canton of Zurich. Between 2011 and 2014, the Federal Office for Sport also supports specific professional and leisure sports projects of the national athletics federation with an annual contribution of 600,000 Swiss francs to help ensure a long-term impetus for athletics in Switzerland.

House of Switzerland to premier in Switzerland at Zürich 2014

The City Festival on Sechseläutenplatz will celebrate the host country of the championships. In addition, it will be a place to meet – a summer party for residents and guests. The House of Switzerland, provided by Presence Switzerland, will represent the heart and soul of the City Festival. So far, the extraordinary building could be admired outside of Switzerland only. Members of the Swiss Armed Forces will help build and dismantle the structure (1,000 man-days have been scheduled for the task).
 
“Sports has a huge potential for communication purposes, and with its international scope, Zürich 2014 is a wonderful opportunity to present the country, its values, its ideas,” explained Ambassador Nicolas Bideau, Head of Presence Switzerland, an office of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. “For the first time, the Swiss will be able to see an example of how we represent our country in the world.” The House of Switzerland is a sustainable, wooden structure, an ideal ambassador for Swiss design and architecture, and a creative platform to help represent Switzerland’s interests on the occasion of major international events.

The House of Switzerland is currently being set up in Sochi for the 2014 Olympic Games. After Zürich 2014, it will be moved to the 2015 world exhibition in Milan and to the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.

The place to be: Zürich 2014 City Festival

In addition to the House of Switzerland, where many top athletes will make appearances, the City Festival will boast various attractions. “Our partners and sponsors will offer surprising and unusual athletics experiences,” said Zürich 2014 Marketing Director Christoph Joho. “Visitors will be able invited to witness a 100m race with their ears only, for example. The experiment in a darkened pavilion will provide them with an entirely new perspective of the event – and probably give them goose bumps.”

Every night after 10 p.m., art enthusiasts and athletics fans will be able to admire video installations on the façade of the Zurich opera house. The City Festival on Sechseläutenplatz will be declared open by top Swiss athletes on Saturday, 9 August 2014.

Host Broadcaster SRG to provide TV images for 370 million viewers

A comprehensive TV coverage will ensure that millions of sports fans around the world will be able to follow the athletics action in Zurich. On behalf of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), SRG SSR will provide the TV images of Zürich 2014. All in all, 370 million TV viewers will be able to watch the world signal. The championships represent the largest and most complex host broadcasting project in the network’s history. The competitions at Letzigrund Stadium will be captured by 70 cameras. 22 additional cameras will be needed to cover the race walking and marathon events in the city centre. And as some events will be staged simultaneously, up to eight feeds will be required.

300 members of SRG staff will be on duty for the championships, and two thirds of them will be working on the production of the world signal. The SRG television stations (SRF, RTS, RSI, RTR) will cover both the events prior to and during the championships and the competitions for TV shows, radio shows, and for the internet. All competitions will be shown live on Swiss national TV. URS Leutert, Head of Business Unit Sports SRG/SSR is looking forward to the championships: “SRG is proud to support Zürich 2014 with its renowned technical and production know-how. We will strive to convey the fascination of the sport of athletics, and to introduce the host city Zurich and host country Switzerland to the world.”

Sustainable development for athletics

Hansjörg Wirz, President of European Athletics, praised the cooperation with the Zürich 2014 Local Organizing Committee, the City and the Canton of Zurich, and the Swiss Confederation. He stressed that the championships would be a magnificent event, thanks to the outstanding efforts of all parties involved. Wirz, a native of the 2014 host country, was particularly excited to see that the Swiss athletics community joined forces to make the championships happen: “Volunteers from all parts of the country, the impressive progress made by the members of the national team, and an actual revival of athletics in the French-speaking part of Switzerland prove that championships are an ideal platform to develop and celebrate our sport.

In particular, I am glad to see that Zürich 2014 is being used to launch initiatives for young athletes. At many or our events, we are pleased to cooperate with our International Partner SPAR with their SPARK kids athletics program, and for 2014 the baton has been passed over, with more than 100,000 children participating in the UBS Kids Cup, the UBS Kids Cup Team and Mille Gruyère every year. These are delightful and encouraging examples for sustainable development in athletics.”

 
Janine Geigele

 

EM Zürich 2014