UEFA EURO 2024: All about the Munich volunteers

1,600 volunteers in action in Munich at the European Championships

Volunteers in Germany ensure an unforgettable European Football Championship in the host cities and around the stadiums. A total of 146,000 applications were received throughout Germany for the 16,000 volunteer positions, 25,493 of which were for Munich. Of these, 1,600 were selected as volunteers in the Bavarian capital.

And the Munich volunteers are as diverse as the European Championships themselves: They range in age from 18 to 77. On average, the volunteers from a total of 31 nations are 38.6 years old. For 16.4% of Munich volunteers, UEFA EURO 2024 is their first tournament assignment.

Volunteers are normally assigned to one main position at UEFA EURO 2024. There are 25 different areas in total - from the UEFA anti-doping team to spectator reception and social media volunteers.

Reception in the Hofgarten for the Munich volunteers

After the sixth and final Munich match of the European Championships was successfully completed, the Munich volunteers were duly honored in the Hofgarten on July 11: Minister President Markus Söder thanked the volunteers: "We are so proud of you. What you have done is sensational. The volunteers have helped to give guests from all over the world, from Europe, from all countries, a good picture of Germany and, above all, of Bavaria. We are very grateful for that." Tournament director Philipp Lahm also thanked the numerous volunteers, who were then able to celebrate themselves once again at the big volunteers party in the evening.

Volunteer kickoff at the Deutsches Theater

The Munich volunteers were welcomed at the big kick-off event at the Deutsches Theater on April 27. After a warm-up by the improv theater ensemble Bühnenpolka, host Jochen Stutzky welcomed 1,200 of the volunteers in the hall together with Mayor Verena Dietl, Tournament Director Philipp Lahm and Host City Ambassador Dr. Felix Brych. To get the volunteers in the mood for the tournament, they were introduced to the Volunteer Hub in the Olympic Park, the accreditations, dos and don'ts and the new volunteer uniforms - green tops and gray pants. European Championship mascot Albärt also raffled off original European Championship footballs among the volunteers.

Philipp Lahm and Munich's Host City Ambassador Dr. Felix Brych recalled on stage how fairly the Brazilian World Cup volunteers treated the German guests after the 7-1 defeat against the DFB team in 2014. At the end of the kick-off event, all the guests came up on stage once again and took selfies with the volunteers in an exuberant atmosphere in the hall.

Philipp Lahm: “Everyone has their role and everyone is important”

Mayor Verena Dietl said at the volunteer kick-off: “I am delighted that we celebrated the start of UEFA EURO 2024 together. We invited 1,200 of the 1,600 volunteers to the Deutsches Theater. We are delighted that we are able to host a major sporting event here in Munich, that we are once again the host city and that we will give our all as a cosmopolitan city with heart. And we need our fantastic volunteers for this. As mayor, I am very touched by how many are involved and how good the atmosphere is. I believe we will see the hospitality that Munich always radiates in full again this summer.”

Tournament Director Philipp Lahm addressed the volunteers directly on stage: “We have a huge tournament ahead of us this summer. I'm super grateful that you're all at the start and supporting us. Everyone has their role and everyone is important. Every single one of you is important for the success of this tournament.”

UEFA EURO 2024: This is what the logo for the approximately 16,000 volunteers looks like

Colourful, diverse and a welcoming culture with open arms: The logo of the UEFA EURO 2024 volunteers is true to the official tournament motto "United by Football. United in the heart of Europe". The logo is also based on the traditional "V" for "Volunteer" at UEFA tournaments.

The trademark stands for the Volunteer Programme, which is being implemented jointly by UEFA and the ten host cities for the first time. A total of 16,000 volunteers will lay the foundations for a successful tournament in the summer of 2024.

Philipp Lahm: "Football as we love it is not possible without volunteering"

"Volunteering is the foundation of the EURO. We are delighted with the help of 16,000 volunteers, who not only make the EURO a success, but are also perceived as likeable, committed hosts," said Philipp Lahm, former DFB captain (including at the 2014 World Cup win) and now Tournament Director of UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany. "We would like to honour them with a special logo that expresses our deep appreciation. We would like to thank the volunteers and hope that we will continue to meet them in voluntary roles in the future. Because without volunteers, football as we love it would not be possible."

Célia Šašić, DFB Vice President for Equality and Diversity and UEFA EURO 2024 Ambassador, said: "The colourful logo reflects the diversity of the people who support us as volunteers. We welcome everyone, regardless of their origin, the colour of their skin, what they believe in and who they love. The colourfulness of our volunteers is an image of our society that we are proud of and that we want to show the whole world: We want to live in freedom and peace, in line with our values. Thank you to everyone who represents this. Thank you to everyone who supports us."