Interview Ellen Schmid
"Thinking about sustainability right from the start"
Ellen Schmid ist Deputy Head of Sustainability @ UEFA Euro 2024 Host City Stuttgart. Foto: Willy Löbl
Ellen Schmid ist Deputy Head of Sustainability @ UEFA Euro 2024 Host City Stuttgart. Foto: Willy Löbl
Ellen Schmid is Deputy Head of Sustainability @ UEFA Euro 2024 Host City Stuttgart until the end of the year. In this interview, she talks about the EURO 2024 ESG Strategy, the Fan Zones and climate adaptation measures and has two tips for the UEFA EURO 2028 team.
tw tagungswirtschaft: True to the motto "The whole city one stadium", UEFA EURO 2024 defined the summer in the host city of Stuttgart. Share your "once-in-a-lifetime" moment with us.
Ellen Schmid: That was the first evening with the broadcast of the opening match between Germany and Scotland. Our Schlossplatz fan zone with public viewing area was filled to capacity with 30,000 visitors. The fans who could no longer be admitted to the Schlossplatz celebrated in the surrounding pubs, in the other areas of our Fan Zones and in the city centre. So on the very first day of the tournament, "the whole city became a stadium" - the atmosphere was great and fortunately everything went off peacefully. It was a perfect start, just as we had hoped.
You have been Deputy Head of Sustainability @ UEFA Euro 2024 since October 2022. What have been your tasks?
The tasks that we realised as a team with my colleagues Eva Berlin and Annika Schwegat were very diverse. The main tasks included the creation of sustainability concepts, which we constantly updated in coordination with EURO 2024 GmbH. Another important point was advising and raising awareness of the departments involved on sustainable implementation and developing strategies and measures to optimise economic, ecological and social sustainability in all areas. On site, we worked with a team of hostesses and volunteers during the event to ensure that the planned sustainability measures were implemented accordingly.
In Stuttgart, the sustainability concept was based on UEFA's EURO 2024 ESG Strategy in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Roughly speaking, which sustainability fields did this envisage?
Divided into the three ESG areas of environmental, social and governance, we have focussed on the following topics: Climate protection, sustainable infrastructure and circular economy in the environmental area, protection of human rights, diversity and inclusion, health and well-being in the social area and transparency, sustainable procurement, education and training and communication in the governance area. As in.Stuttgart Veranstaltungsgesellschaft, we have also orientated ourselves towards ISO DIN 20121 Sustainable Event Management.
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"The four fan zones in Stuttgart were supplied with green electricity. A waste concept helped to reduce plastic and food waste. Suppliers and service providers were selected according to sustainability criteria."
Ellen Schmid, Deputy Head of Sustainability @ UEFA Euro 2024 Host City Stuttgart
Stuttgart was the only one of the ten German host cities to have four Fan Zones: at Schlossplatz, Marktplatz, Karlsplatz and Schillerplatz. How did you ensure sustainability here?
The four Stuttgart Fan Zones were located in four neighbouring squares in the city centre and were within walking distance of each other. Here are a few examples of our sustainability measures: The Fan Zones were supplied with green electricity, and we also had a professional waste concept drawn up and implemented. Our main aim here was to reduce plastic and food waste in our fan zones. Sustainability criteria were taken into account when selecting suppliers and service providers. The accessible design of our fan zones meant that everyone could participate. Starting with platforms and sufficient sanitary facilities for the disabled, the use of deaf performers at our concerts, audio description of the matches and the use of an inductive hearing system, menus with a read-aloud function and various support services for people with disabilities. With various climate adaptation measures such as shaded and planted seating, drinking water and sun cream dispensers in all areas of the Fan Zone, we were able to create pleasant places to stay even in summer temperatures. In cooperation with the City of Stuttgart, we set up a Safer Space as a place to retreat and a contact point after incidents of discrimination. In the run-up to the event, the employees of the Fan Zones were trained accordingly with a specially produced video film involving our Host City ambassadors Cacau, Elisabeth Seitz and Niko Kappel.
Under the motto "Sustainability concerns us all!", employees, volunteers and visitors were asked to consider the topic and rethink their actions. How did you proceed?
The entire project team received comprehensive training on the topic of sustainability in advance. The aim was to inspire and motivate not only employees, but also fans and visitors to Host City Stuttgart to engage with the topic of sustainability and rethink their own actions. The motto was: "Sustainability concerns us all! And Host City Stuttgart is setting a good example." Visitors to our Fan Zones were motivated to get more exercise and informed about various sustainability topics through a variety of sports activities. Sustainable content such as information on waste separation, the Safer Space and heat protection information was also played on Fan Zone TV before the broadcasts.
100 sustainabilitymeasures for UEFA EURO 2024
A guide from the ten German host cities with 100 sustainability measures has been produced for UEFA EURO 2024. They include the overarching sustainability measures in the fan zones, the highlights from the ten host cities and measures taken by the German government.
The UEFA EURO 2028 will be held in the United Kingdom with England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and in the Republic of Ireland. What two sustainability hacks do you have for your successors?
I recommend thinking about sustainability in the planning process from the outset and prioritising it as high as possible in the project team. It is particularly important to develop sustainability topics across all departments and thus sensitise all project participants to the associated tasks in advance.
Before you joined the sustainability team at Host City Stuttgart, you worked in marketing at the Liederhalle cultural and congress centre in Stuttgart. What's next step in your career?
The project team is currently still busy with the follow-up to the tournament.
I was sent to the UEFA EURO 2024 team by the Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Liederhalle, which is also part of the in.Stuttgart Veranstaltungsgesellschaft. I will return to the Liederhalle from 2025.
"Stuttgart has gained international recognition"
Karina Grützner, Head of Stuttgart Convention Bureau, on the impact of UEFA EURO 2024 on Stuttgart as a destination for business events.
Karina Grützner poses with Fritzle, the mascot of VfB Stuttgart 1893. Photo: Stuttgart-Marketing
Stuttgart presented itself as an attractive, hospitable destination during the UEFA EURO 2024. Under the motto 'The whole city one stadium', Stuttgart-Marketing was responsible for marketing the Host City Stuttgart before and during the football tournament. Over 1,000 square metres of banners, 150 flags and 40 digital surfaces welcomed the guests. Public viewing on Schlossplatz, four themed fan zones, concerts and a cultural programme transformed Stuttgart into a place that lived and breathed football.
This is reflected in the balance sheet: from 14 June to 14 July 2024, the projection showed around 200,000 overnight stays generated by the European Championships and around one million day visitors. The hotel industry was satisfied and demand for tourist offers was high.
I was particularly pleased that two national teams chose a hotel in the Stuttgart region as their team base camp: The Swiss stayed at the Waldhotel Stuttgart, while the Belgians stayed at the Schlosshotel Monrepos in Ludwigsburg. Thanks to the international reporting and the diverse social media content, Stuttgart is guaranteed to have gained international recognition. The focus on sustainability ran through all measures. The free sun cream, the free "cigarette boxes to-go for the leftovers after smoking" and the extended public transport service to the stadium were particularly popular. Another highlight was the modernisation of the MHP Arena, which is now one of the most modern stadiums in Europe. This innovation has expanded Stuttgart's event capacities and offers many possibilities for events of all kinds.
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