November 2023 Insight Fan fests, public viewings and fan miles
Today, public viewings and fan miles are part of football championships and other sports, as well as cultural and political events. To ensure that the audience can celebrate the live event together in front of the screen and that the venue also benefits from the event, carefully planned infrastructures and a great deal of experience in implementation are required.
Shake and celebrate together at Public Viewing, Fan Mile and Fan Fest
When the UEFA EURO is held in Germany in summer 2024, public viewings and fan miles in cities and squares will once again be in high season. Shaking and celebrating together means experiencing emotions. Celebrate the excitement with friends and fans on the fan mile - and enjoy the cheers or share the disappointment together. This is the great live experience for everyone who can't - or doesn't want to - be in the stadium. Not just at football championships, of course, but also at all other sports and cultural events.
Our topics
Public viewings since the World Cup in Germany
Public viewing - from small to large
The perfect location
Focus on safety
Good for the image of the city or municipality
Public Viewing begeistert seit 2006
Public viewing, fan miles, fun zones, fan festivals and all the other events have been known in Europe since the 2006 FIFA World Cup at the latest. In Germany alone, 18 million people watched the games in public places. 12 public viewings - so-called FIFA Fan Fest venues - with a total of 39 large screens offered the enthusiastic spectators excitement, emotion, entertainment and atmosphere.
Today, it is impossible to imagine major sporting and cultural events without the shared excitement in front of the big screen. It brings people together who might otherwise rarely celebrate together - different age and interest groups who share unique moments united by a common goal.
Football fan firm
The term Fan Fest in particular aptly characterizes what public viewing is all about: the relevance of the event for visitors, a dramaturgy with a beginning, end and highlights as well as catering, additional information, show acts, side events and much more. The event thus fulfills fans' needs for community, belonging and collective identification with a team and satisfies their curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
In 2006, on the occasion of the Football World Cup, an idea became a success: the "Südkurve Deutschland" project with public viewings in German cities throughout the country. NUSSLI realized 7 of these "Südkurven" alone. The installations consisted of Grandstands for 350 to 900 people including VIP and hospitality areas for a stadium-like atmosphere in the so-called non-host cities, i.e. in cities that were not hosting the World Cup. The World Cup was to be celebrated as a major cultural event, as something to be enjoyed and experienced with friends and family - it was about more than just football.
The 13th stadium of the 2006 World Cup: the "World of Football"
In front of the Berlin Reichstag, NUSSLI built a miniature version of the Olympic Stadium, the so-called 13th stadium, with the "World of Football" by adidas. It is probably still one of the most fascinating fan miles. The idea from adidas: a 40,000 m² world of football experiences that can be used for public viewings and concerts. But that's not all. The Stadiumwas to be a faithful replica of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Stadium on a scale of 1:3. NUSSLI designed the architecture and built the entire stadium. 80 employees were involved in the construction and used around 1200 tons of steel for the temporary stadium. It offered space for over 10,000 people and fulfilled all the functions of a modern stadium in a scaled-down form.
Mehr zur Fussball-WM 2006
Football and much more
Public viewing is now widespread, well-known and popular. The idea of sharing in the excitement has also become established for other sports such as handball and basketball. And in culture, too, e.g. at festivals or the operas in Berlin and Munich, and even at religious gatherings and political events - e.g. the Papal visit and the inauguration of Obama.
The Leichtathletik-EM in Berlin 2018 did not only take place in the stadium. The Olympic Stadium was temporarily extended with a "European Mile" around the Memorial Church. As general contractor, NUSSLI supplied all the buildings for the European Mile at Breitscheidplatz from a single source. Part of the European Mile was the Generali-Arena with three grandstands and a central stage for award ceremonies, live performances and broadcasts from the Olympic Stadium. The athletics competitions were combined with entertainment to create a great festival full of emotion. In addition to the grandstands, the NUSSLI team also built the Stageseveral staircases, platforms, entrance portals and bridges - all in a very confined space and partly across streets.
The perfect place
Public viewing has now become an indispensable supporting program for international football, but also for many other sports and events, filling not only corner pubs, but also streets, squares and city centres. In contrast to matches and events in stadiums, public viewing is not tied to a specific location such as a stadium. It can take place in a wide variety of locations, which makes it even more attractive.
Football party in the Commerzbank Arena Frankfurt
For the matches of the 2016 European Football Championship, NUSSLI transformed the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt am Main into a location for a huge football party and installed the largest public viewing screen in Germany. The project team integrated the modular support structure for the 41-metre-wide and 14-metre-high LED wall directly into the 240 m² stage. Two smaller LED walls on both sides complemented the large screen. In addition to live broadcasts of the German matches, spectators were able to enjoy the best entertainment with live music acts and various street food offerings.
Kick and Groove Park" at Nuremberg Airport
A stage for a fan festival with live broadcasts was also set up at Nuremberg Airport in 2020.
On the occasion of the UEFA European Football Championship 2016 in Paris, NUSSLI realized a complete public viewing park. The "Kick and Groove Park 2016" had a stage with an integrated LED wall, a 6 m long catwalk, an 18 m² platform area and a grandstand with a total of 324 seats.
Floating big screen in Frankfurt
A unique public viewing experience was offered to all football fans during the 2006 World Cup in the Main Arena in Frankfurt city center. A large floating screen in the middle of the river broadcast the games on both sides of the river with two 144 m² video screens. NUSSLI built the grandstands along the banks of the Main with a total of 3,500 seats and various platform areas. In total, the Main Arena offered space for around 22,000 spectators.
Celebrate safely and carefree
Even when the atmosphere is exuberant, the safety of the audience and the emergency services must not be neglected. That's why NUSSLI offers an infrastructure that takes all aspects of modern safety concepts into account. Defined waiting areas, stairs and pedestrian bridges ensure that spectators are admitted in an orderly fashion and avoid stress when queuing. The planning and installation of safe entrances, targeted routing and sufficient escape routes is therefore part of NUSSLI's range of services and is more in demand than ever. In general, the temporary buildings from NUSSLI meet the highest safety requirements - whether in terms of exceptional weather conditions, specially required safety protocols or in terms of statics and load-bearing capacity.
From planning to installation
As an event service provider, we at NUSSLI want to offer fans unforgettable live experiences. Whether in the stadium, on the fan mile or on the village square. Whether with standing room for 100 spectators or an arena for 1000 or more. Our experience shows that a holistic approach to event organization is important. As planners, we can therefore provide advice at an early stage of idea and project development. We make our experience and expertise available to determine the appropriate infrastructure from the idea and the event concept and to plan it comprehensively. We tailor the event structures perfectly to the available site, the program and the specific requirements of the location. Based on our many years of experience and expertise, we plan precisely the event structures that allow fans to take part in the games. It's not just about the place where the sporting event can be watched, but about the overall experience from A to Z: sport, music, merchandising, business, catering. As a provider of temporary solutions, we support our customers from the initial planning phase through to the realization of the project.
For public viewing and fan malls of all sizes, NUSSLI offers
Grandstands with and without roofing
Staircases, stairwells and ramps
Commentator and media boxes
Camera towers and platforms
Terraces, VIP boxes and business areas
Sales areas for catering and merchandising
Customized advertising boards and spaces
Wheelchair and attendant spaces
Hospitality area, business area, private areas for meetings
Merchandising and catering areas
Living together - celebrating together
Public events revitalize the city or municipality and make it an attractive place to live. Casual events in particular, such as public viewing, which appeal to all social classes and age groups, can therefore certainly contribute to increasing the attractiveness of the location and positively shape the image of the city or municipality. The prerequisite for this is that the event is carefully planned and implemented with all the necessary structural and infrastructural facilities so that it is perceived as positive by traffic, businesses and the population.
Realization partner with network and branches
With our know-how and extensive experience, we support event organizers with public viewing projects of all sizes - from simple installations with a video wall and grandstand to complete fan arenas with a stage and all the trimmings. And: We use our large network and work together with local partners. Because when it comes to construction projects around the globe, we are used to and always rely on making contacts everywhere and finding trustworthy partners. This cooperation gives us access to local expertise and labor from the region and shortens procurement times. In addition, we are represented worldwide with subsidiaries and our own sales and project offices. Also in your area. When and where are you planning your fan mile, fan festival or public viewing? Talk to us.