A world record for spectators will be set at the opening match day of the European Handball Championship next January in Germany.
As the German Handball Association (DHB) announced, more than 50,000 tickets were sold for January 10, 2024 in Düsseldorf. Never before have so many fans followed a handball game.
“We are overwhelmed,” said DHB board chairman Mark Schober. This shows the importance of the European Championships and the enthusiasm of the German handball audience. The DHB naturally hopes that the arenas in the other venues will be sold out as often as possible. “There, too, German handball fans can experience many world stars known from the Bundesliga up close. We also have a very high number of ticket orders from abroad for all venues,” said Schober.
The previous record is 44,189 fans
The world record setting is made possible because an additional indoor grandstand with a capacity of around 9,000 seats is being built in the Düsseldorf Arena. The current world attendance record for handball games dates back to 2014, when 44,189 fans saw the game between the Rhein-Neckar Löwen and HSV Hamburg on Handball Day in the Frankfurt Arena.
The Düsseldorf Arena is not yet officially sold out on the opening day of the match. Remaining tickets could still go on sale for the Group A games between France and North Macedonia (6 p.m.) and Germany against Switzerland (8:45 p.m.), said Schober.
The national ticket quotas for the other German preliminary round games in Berlin against North Macedonia (January 14th) and France (January 16th) have currently been exhausted. In the main round, the DHB selection would play in Cologne from January 18th. For the other main round game days as well as for the final weekend on the 26th/28th. January 2024 in Cologne, tickets are still available.