The dream of winning a second consecutive European Championship title did not come true. The UEFA EURO 2024 in Berlin came to an end for the Italian national soccer team on Saturday evening. Yesterday, the team, together with a large part of the delegation from the forest city, departed from Dortmund airport for Milan and Rome. The Italian FA's technical team will be dismantling the cabin building, perimeter boards and privacy screen at Hemberg by the middle of the week.
"Of course, we would have liked to have been able to host the Italians a little longer as Team Base Camp. However, the association also found time on the day of departure to thank the employees of the city and Hotel VierJahreszeiten for their commitment and hospitality. We would like to thank the Italian association for their trust," said Michael Joithe, Mayor of Iserlohn.
The last few weeks have been more than instructive for the organization team. Both the team at the VierJahreszeiten and the city have been able to gain an incredible amount of experience, which can be used this year and in the coming years at the next training camps for professional teams in the Waldstadt. On July 20, the French first division team OSC Lille will be the first club team to hold a training camp in Iserlohn in preparation for the Champions League qualifiers. Other teams will follow. "We can already see that the future cooperation with numerous international professional sports agencies will make Iserlohn a regular location for training camps. This will raise the city's profile and bring fans from all over the world to the Waldstadt," emphasized Christian Kißmer, European Championship project manager in Iserlohn. He also pointed out that the Hemberg has now been renovated a little earlier than planned. "We would have had to do that anyway, in the same way, in two to three years. FC Iserlohn and others are already benefiting from this. The newly laid turf will see numerous top-class soccer matches in this quality for around 10 years," continued Kißmer.
The dismantling work at the Hemberg stadium has already begun and should be completed by the end of the week at the latest. The Hemberg will then be open again for training by the local teams. The beach volleyball court and the artificial turf pitch at Hemberg will be reopened earlier.
The Casa Azzurri has been closed since yesterday and is now being converted back into the Matthias Grothe Hall.
The European Championship summer in Iserlohn will continue despite the departure of the Italian team. The reason for this is the German national soccer team's 2:0 victory over Denmark in the round of 16 on Saturday. The Germans will now face Spain in the European Championship quarter-finals on Friday evening at 6pm. All fans can already look forward to the big screen in the Heimatversorger-Arena on Alexanderhöhe. As always, the doors will open two hours before kick-off, i.e. at 4 pm. Tickets are already available at the usual price via the website: em24-iserlohn.de. IMPORTANT: A ticket for the big screen does not give visitors access to the Schützenfest grounds and vice versa. If you want to experience both events on Friday, you will need two different tickets.
Due to the shooting festival, however, there will be some minor changes on the Alexanderhöhe. Access will only be possible via Südstraße and from the parking lot of the Parktheater. Due to the Schützenfest, there will be no pre-game show on the Alter Rathausplatz. There were already 3,200 soccer fans in the Heimatversorger-Arena on Saturday, and the organizers are currently expecting an even bigger crowd for the quarter-final.
Next Friday, the catering on the Alexanderhöhe will be organized by the host of the IBSV Schützenfest. For this reason, it will not be possible to exchange deposit cups, which could not be returned last Saturday evening due to the approaching thunderstorm and the rapid clearing of the area. "We very much regret this, but ask for your understanding," said the organizers of the big screen.
In addition to the shooting festival and big screen, all Iserlohn residents can also look forward to the rest of the European Championship summer program.
The festive weekend kicks off with the "Thursdays at the evening market" event, a tried-and-tested combination of the evening market organized by Stadtmarketing and Thursdays at the market organized by Werbegemeinschaft Iserlohn.
The stalls at the evening market between Marktplatz and Schillerplatz open from 4 p.m. and promise a successful mix of enjoyment, crafts, entertainment and exhibitions. The selection ranges from arts and crafts to handmade items, soaps and jewelry. There will also be all kinds of delicacies, such as trout, honey, spices, schnapps, typical Ukrainian delicacies and burgers. Kindernothilfe will once again be selling books for a good cause.
Of course, there will also be a colorful children's program. An attractive entertainment program awaits the youngest visitors around the fountain - not only will the Dream Express be doing its rounds, children can also have their faces painted or take part in craft, painting and games activities organized by the "Cultural Heritage" association. All youngsters and young-at-heart adults with collecting fever will also have the opportunity to swap duplicate soccer stickers for missing ones at the sticker exchange (in bad weather, the exchange will take place in the WaldStadtLabor). Maybe one or two of you will fill up your EM collector's album this afternoon.
The evening market then starts at 6 pm. Not with music as usual, but in a sporty way - with the award ceremony of the city cycling competition, where the most active team, the largest team, the most active school, the largest school team and "the best integration into everyday life" will be honored on the stage on the market square. In addition, three non-cash prizes will be raffled off among all participants with a minimum mileage of 50 km.
Immediately afterwards, "Dr. No and Philipp Hemmelmann" will perform on the market square, entertaining the audience with their powerful voices and guitars while enjoying cool drinks in the cozy seats under the plane trees.
