Euro 2024 postcard: The streets of Germany are bonkers and beautiful - but it feels like a country struggling to cope with the visiting fans Mail Sport's Craig Hope got caught up in an open-air festival in Erfurt Elsewhere, trains have heaved with fans as Germany struggles to host them LISTEN to It's All Kicking Off! 'The Luke Shaw call by Gareth Southgate has been an absolute stinker! It was another mistake and left England so lopsided By Craig Hope Published: 18:23 EDT, 22 June 2024 | Updated: 18:38 EDT, 22 June 2024 e-mail View comments It was hard to tell if the bewigged singer on a pop-up stage in a courtyard here in Erfurt was a Freddie Mercury tribute act or a fan of Graeme Souness and Terry McDermott. Either way, he was singing ABBA songs and the locals were drinking beer from a watering can. It was like a bad dream.
Correction, a good dream. This was bonkers and beautiful. On every street corner in this medieval town was a band — all part of an open-air festival to celebrate the summer solstice.
The quality of the vocals ranged from average to offensive but it mattered not, the mood was as warm as the June night. I had wandered from my hotel full of good intentions to watch France versus the Netherlands on my own. I wanted to take in the game.
Instead, I was swept up in the sea of song that coursed through the cobbled streets. The football was aired on TVs around Erfurt’s various squares, but no-one was watching. Mail Sport's Craig Hope got swept up in an open-ai.
