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Berlin, Brussels… these European cities that will not broadcast the World Cup in Qatar either

2022-10-04T16:32:01.299Z


The reasons are manifold and range from uncertainty regarding the Covid pandemic, to boycotting the competition given the lack of compliance


While several French cities including Paris, Marseille, Lille, Bordeaux and Strasbourg, have announced their intention not to broadcast the World Cup matches on a giant screen next November to protest against the conditions of organization of the event, other European cities have taken similar decisions.

Berlin's infamous fan mile canceled

Berliners, for example, will have to do without the huge fan zone at the Brandenburg Gate, the famous “fan mile”, according to the Guardian.

The managing director of the organizing company declared that the event was not possible this year, highlighting the impossibility of setting up a fan zone at the time of the Christmas markets and recalling "the uncertainties" linked to the pandemic. of Covid-19.

A gigantic fan zone stretching over 1.6 km, the "fan mile" had become an institution for German supporters since the country hosted the 2006 edition. 'era.

Several Belgian cities are boycotting

Despite the heroic competition of the Red Devils during the previous edition (1-0 defeat against France in the quarter-finals), no municipality in the Brussels conurbation will broadcast the matches of the competition, according to La Libre Belgique.

Some mayors foresee too few supporters in the middle of winter but also mention the energy and climate crisis as well as the non-respect of human rights in Qatar.

In the municipality of Auderghem, for example, where the giant screen had been a huge success in 2018, the fan zone will ultimately not be renewed.

“We had budgeted for it but with what is happening there, the working conditions, etc., we no longer want to,” admitted mayor Sophie De Vos.

The mayor of Tubize (Brabant), the city which hosts the training sessions of the Belgian national team, also announced on Facebook that the matches would not be broadcast, according to the Belgian media Moustique.

He justified his decision by the energy cost of the big screen as well as that of the heating of the tents and evoked political reasons.

“With this gesture, the City also condemns the deplorable working conditions observed throughout the construction of the stadiums.

As well as the non-respect of fundamental rights, the rights of women and those of LGBTQIA +”, one can read in the Facebook post of the mayor.

Same decision on the side of the province of Hainaut.

Braine-Le-Comte, the birthplace of the brothers Eden and Thorgan Hazard, will not set up the traditional “Hazard village”.

“Organizing the World Cup in Qatar very clearly violates our values.

It is total nonsense to be an accomplice of such an organization, ”explained Jacques Gobert, mayor of La Louvière to RTL Belgium.

In Geneva, the fan zone makes people cringe

A fan zone, on the other hand, is well planned in the Swiss city of Geneva, but the decision has drawn criticism from elected officials on the left, according to the Swiss edition of 20 minutes.

The Greens and the Socialists have indeed asked the Administrative Council to set up an awareness campaign on the "disastrous effects of the organization and holding of the Football World Cup in Qatar" on the sidelines of the festivities.

And the socialist municipal councilor Pascal Holenweg wants to go further by launching a petition demanding the pure and simple cancellation of the fan zone.

The mayor of Geneva, Marie Barbey-Chpuis, called on Saturday in the Tribune de Genève, to "share things", specifying that going to the fan zone "did not mean" supporting the government of the host country ".

In France, the environmental mayor of Strasbourg, Jeanne Barseghian, announced on September 28 that the city had not planned public screenings of the posters of the competition.

"It is impossible for us not to hear the many alerts from NGOs denouncing the abuse and exploitation of immigrant workers," she said.

Following this announcement, the cities of Lille, Rodez, Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nancy, Reims, Rennes, Brest and Clermont-Ferrand, held by left-wing mayors for the most part, also indicated that they would not would not broadcast the event.

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2022-10-04

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