Host Nation Update, June 28, 2024
Attack at public viewing in Stuttgart
Seriously injured man out of danger after knife attack
The severity of the knife attack on three men in the fan zone on Wednesday evening became clear on Thursday. The police and the public prosecutor’s office announced that one of the injured was out of danger. During the night, it had looked critical for the 38-year-old, according to a police spokesman. A 19-year-old man was slightly injured, a 60-year-old seriously injured. The suspect was remanded in custody on Thursday on charges of attempted murder. He is 25 years old and comes from Syria. Two of his victims have Turkish nationality, the 19-year-old is German. The police are still investigating whether the origin of the men has anything to do with the crime – or whether it was a dispute that arose during the public viewing on the Schlossplatz. The police have set up the “Knife” investigation team.
The attack happened at around 10.45 p.m. in the courtyard right in front of the screen in one of the front rows of fans on the square. During the match between the Turkish and Czech national teams, the Turkish supporters clearly predominated. There had been an “altercation”. The man then reached for a knife. The event organizers in.Stuttgart decided on Thursday to reopen the fan zone in the evening. On the one hand, this was due to the fact that no one’s life was in danger certainly contributed to this. On the other hand, this decision can be interpreted to mean that in discussions with the security authorities it emerged that the crime must be viewed independently of the European Championship events. In other words, the fan zone was the scene of the crime, but the argument between the men was the cause of the knife attack, not the fan festival. The attack was therefore not aimed at the celebrating crowd, but at the opponents. “We condemn this act of violence and the attack on people, which casts a shadow over our previously peaceful and atmospheric soccer festival,” says Andreas Kroll, Managing Director of in.Stuttgart Veranstaltungsgesellschaft. The security company had 250 employees on duty on Wednesday evening. The biggest mystery the day after the crime, however, is: How did the knife get onto the pitch? From the very first day, security staff are tasked with searching visitors at all entrances, especially for dangerous objects. At the start of the tournament, information pillars were already in place near the fan zones in the city center, the meeting points for the European Championships, explaining the rules in detail. So far, everyone has had plenty of praise for the security staff and their work. The police had already said in an initial statement two hours after the crime that the square had been cleared very calmly, without panic or commotion. A reader of our newspaper contradicted this. Her daughter had been knocked over and had broken her nose. This case had been reported to the police by the emergency services. The police had also reported during the night that a group from the immediate vicinity had run away immediately after the attack. However, no other injured persons have yet come forward.
The police are accepting information about the attack at all police stations and at https://bw.hinweisportal.de. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, June 28, 24)
Stuttgart region – Storms cause railroad lines to be closed and trees uprooted
Following a storm over Baden-Württemberg, several railroad lines have been interrupted in various regions. DB Regio announced on Platform X on Thursday evening that the section of line between Herbertingen (Sigmaringen district) and Aulendorf (Ravensburg district) was closed. It is expected that no trains will be able to run there until Saturday. This affects the IRE 6 as well as the RB 53, RB55 and RB91 trains. A replacement bus service has been set up between Aulendorf and Herbertingen.
The S-Bahn Stuttgart announced in the evening that the line between Rohr and Böblingen is currently only passable on one track because there is a tree and branches in the track area. “Expect delays and individual train cancellations on the S1, as all trains are now only running on one track. Please check your journey online,” it said. According to the S-Bahn Stuttgart, the route was back to normal during the night. Nevertheless, the S1 was still running with delays in some cases.
In addition, no train service was possible on the S2 line between Grunbach and Schorndorf. The reason for this is an overhead line fault. The overhead line is currently being investigated. (SN, June 28)
Summer party – Vacation in Greece in the middle of Stuttgart-Vaihingen
The Greek summer festival is celebrated on Schwabenplatz in front of the Schwabengalerie shopping center.
Those responsible for the Greek school in Stuttgart-Vaihingen and the co-organizers of the Schwabengalerie shopping center are delighted with the steadily growing number of visitors, who have a real appetite for souvlaki skewers, freshly grilled chicken steaks, vegetarian spanakopita, Belgian fries, tzatziki and traditional cakes and desserts such as bougatsa. The Greek Summer Festival will of course continue this year. From Friday, July 12 to Sunday, July 14, Schwabenplatz will be decorated in blue and white and guests will be able to take a seat under the open sky – hopefully also blue – and in tents. However, after enjoying the Greek specialties, some people will not be able to stay in their seats. Once again this year, you are welcome to swing and dance when the organizer invites you to a musical journey through the Aegean with Petros Pantazis on Friday from 6 pm. The district head of Stuttgart-Vaihingen will speak at the official opening on Saturday at 3 pm and there will be a live musical highlight with conductor Christos Sourantanopoulos and band from 11 am. On Sunday, the celebrations will continue with a Greek breakfast from 11 am. On both weekend days, visitors can look forward to shows by Greek dance clubs.
Info: The Greek Summer Festival will take place on Friday, July 12, from 6 p.m. and on Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14, from 11 a.m. on Schwabenplatz in Stuttgart-Vaihingen. More information about the festival can be found on the website of the Greek School Vaihingen. (SN, June 28, 2024)
Open-air series with traveling stage in future – Sindelfingen rocks goes mobile
When the tribute band Rox starts playing the songs of the Swedish pop duo Roxette with “Joyride”, “The Look” or “It Must Have Been Love” on July 31, “Sindelfingen rocks” will once again be the order of the day for five weeks. For most of the summer vacations, the market square is transformed into a large open-air area.
The massive concert stage, which has always been located at the lower edge of the market square on Planiestraße, is visible from afar. That will be the case again this year. However, there is one major change: unlike in previous years, the stage will no longer remain in place for weeks on end, taking up space from the stallholders at the weekly market, among others. “The big change is that our stage will now move around,” says concert organizer Johannes Leichtle. According to the Leonberger, the externally rented structure can be set up and dismantled without any major logistical effort and with little noise, is very compact and, when set up, has roughly the same dimensions as the previous stage, measuring ten by six meters and six meters high. Weighing around 3.5 tons, even a normal Sprinter van can pull the trailer, explains Leichtle. “Logistically, it’s not a huge effort,” he says.
European Championship – These channels will broadcast the round of 16
The European Football Championship is entering the hot phase – and the tournament has not only been a success (for the most part) for the hosts. The channels broadcasting the major sporting event are also enjoying good viewing figures.
The German national soccer team’s match against Denmark on Saturday, June 29, will be broadcast by ZDF at 9 pm. In addition, the knockout matches of co-favorites England and France will also be broadcast live on ZDF. This was announced by the broadcaster on Thursday. The stumbling England team will face Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday (6 p.m.), while runners-up France will play Belgium in Düsseldorf on Monday (6 p.m.). The first round of 16 match on Saturday (6 p.m.) in Berlin between defending champions Italy and Switzerland will be broadcast by RTL. The matches between Spain and the surprise of the tournament, Georgia (Sunday, 9 p.m.), Portugal against Slovenia (Monday, 9 p.m.) and Romania against the Netherlands (Tuesday, 6 p.m.) will be broadcast by ARD. (SN, June 28)