"Oh I keep forgetting that the soccer is here," a woman tells her companion as she boards a busy tram at Frankfurt's Hamburger Allee station. The question of how on earth that is possible immediately comes to mind. Because England are in town and Frankfurt is turning red, white and blue as a huge number of fans mill about the city, most in retro kits from the 1980s and 90s, while there's a 2002 Jonathan Woodgate top providing a bit of something different.
England are playing Denmark at the city's Deutsche Bank Park , but that 'only' holds 58,000 people and that isn't enough, so the vast majority of the remaining fans head for the fan park at Mainufer, a sprawling construction along the side of the river with bars, food stalls, shops, E-sports stations and big screens scattered throughout, including one enormous one on the river itself. The 6pm kick-off time gives us a perfect chance to view Frankfurt in microcosm. Busy-looking professionals get on and off the tram after a day of doing busy professional things, with Frankfurt a hub of financial work in Germany, while around the main train station there is a hugely different side to life .
We're going past there though, and down into the fan park where we're met with a rousing chorus of 'Hey Jude' as England fans get in the mood to cheer on Bellingham and the boys. The way the fan park is constructed, essentially along the riverbank, means that there is plenty of room, and supporters are able to move freely between the bars and.