Balance of the special reporter: Finances findings

The finals offer a stage for great sport every year and especially for sports that otherwise don’t get as much attention. Of the finals in Dresden, not only will the athletes’ performance be remembered.

The finals offer a stage for great sport every year and especially for sports that otherwise don’t get as much attention. Of the finals in Dresden, not only will the athletes’ performance be remembered.

Short distances and a great atmosphere in Dresden

It is always said about the finals that they are like small Olympic games. This also has to do with the fact that the sports facilities are so close together. It was also in Dresden. A good example of this: The Heinz Steyer Stadium, in which athletics took place, the team sports arena and the Joynext Arena, in which, among other things, was only 400 meters apart.

The spectators were able to walk from Venue to Venue and looked very happy. Just like Karen and Alina, who came from Buxtehude in Lower Saxony. “We think it’s great that the paths are so short. You can look at all sports facilities.” Her highlight was the decathlon in athletics – you looked at the triathlon and flag football.

The mood was also special in the old town of Dresden because the Venues were in such important places, such as speed climbing and 3×3 basketball in front of the Frauenkirche or triathlon and archery in front of the Semperoper. In all of these places, it was very busy and full – overall the event was very well attended. The athletics stadium was sold out on both weekends with more than 10,000 spectators. For some sports facilities such as gymnastics, athletics or fencing, you had to buy tickets, other sports facilities were free. That was very well received by people.

Rand sports are happy about media presence

Lacrosse, fistball, badminton, trampoline, fencing or rowing – all of these are sports that usually only get great attention every four years at the Olympic Games – if they are part of the program. Therefore, the athletes are happy to be there at the finals. “For us as Augsburg Lions, the mega is. To have the whole thing around it. The Venue and the many people, that’s great”says Flag football player Ramon Seifert.

The athletes hope that the media presence and attention contribute to more people “Smaller” Want to practice sports or come to watch. Many clubs have young talent, events such as the finals should also address younger people and thus ensure that there can be more teams in the future – such as the flag football.

Not only the stadium and hall are live

Speaking of media presence: Not only did many people be part of the finals live on site. The organizer said that 250,000 visitors were there. But many people also followed the finals from home. For example in front of the television, in the livestream and in front of the radio. ARD and ZDF transferred more than 30 hours live on a linear TV over four days. In addition, more than 100 hours in the live stream. This is very and very good for sport. The effort for the transmission was huge. On each of the eight venues, transmission cars were stored – the number of cameras varied from venue to venue. But on average there were around eight cameras per stadium, hall and field. “People are motivated and have great desire for production. The mood in the ARD team is great”says Matthias Reitz, ARD program manager of the finals.

The very big effort was worth it. On TV and in the live stream, the transmissions reached a million audience-more than two million viewers looked at the same time on linear television.

Nothing works without volunteers

One thing was quickly visible in Dresden: Without volunteers, such an event could not be put together. A total of more than 1,000 people from all over Germany worked on a voluntary basis. They were organized and compiled by the respective sports associations. There were different locations and teams for the volunteers at the respective sports. There were also different tasks: from the Square to the Athlete’s supervisor to the team leader of the Volunteers. Most of the volunteers were at athletics and triathlon. Bernd Rohloff from Dresden was also voluntary in the Heinz Steyer Stadion – he was the head of the Square and formerly athlete himself. To do this, he is on the board of the athletics city association in Dresden. “It is normal for us to make ourselves available as a volunteer for our sport”, says Rohloff. “Because we know exactly how we have to support in the competitions, otherwise nothing will work.”

Despite the changeable weather, the 2025 finals in Dresden were enthusiastic. The event will take place in Hanover next year. And it remains to be hoped that the atmosphere will be so good again and that many people will discover new marginal sports.

Special reporter Sebastian Stuart

Sebastian Stuart is Berlin, 26 years old and has autism with Asperger syndrome. He rows at Rapid Berlin. At the Special Olympics World Games 2023 in Berlin, he began to report from athletic view of sports and inclusion. At the 2025 finals in Dresden, he is a reporter for the sports show.