Haven't got tickets to the Euro 2016? Perhaps the Paris fan zone – which is already under construction – is for you. And it's free.
1. Where is it and how do I get there?
The fan zone will be located at the Champ-de-Mars in the 7th arrondissement. In other words, in the big park right behind the Eiffel Tower.
The nearest Métro stations will be La Motte-Picquet-Grenelle and École Militaire on Line 8 (the pink line). There are already helpful stickers on the Métro trains pointing this out.
Paris se prépare pour l' #UEFA2016 et indique ses “fan zone” RDV 10/06! pic.twitter.com/z6iiwaPMfq
— Emecy SportetVie (@marika751) April 14, 2016
2. The screen is as big as a basketball court
The screen will measure an absolutely whopping 400 metres squared. To put that into perspective, an international basketball court is only slightly bigger at 420 metres squared.
It will be set up on Place Jacques Rueff, meaning the Eiffel Tower itself will be in the background. There'll be a few smaller screens dotted around the venue too.
3. The interior will be enormous
The area inside is 130,000 metres squared, which is the equivalent of 18 football pitches. No wonder the screen is so big.
4. The capacity is bigger than at the Stade de France
The Paris fan zone can accommodate 92,000 people. To put this in perspective, the Parc des Princes Stadium in western Paris holds 49,000, while the Stade de France to the north has a capacity of 81,000. Good luck finding your mates.
5. Security will be super tight
The area will be totally closed off, meaning fans will need to pass through two control stations including metal detectors to get in. Large bags and luggage won't be allowed.
Fans will be frisked, which is already common practice at large sporting events in Paris. There'll be 350 security guards on hand.
There were suggestions that the fan zone in Paris may never happen given the fears over security but city hall authorities have told The Local the idea is that thousands of fans ion the one place are easier to protect than if they are spread out across the city.
6. It's free!
Yep, you won't have to pay a single centime to get in there.
7. It closes at midnight each night
The site will be open at 4pm on June 10th, the first day of the competition.
For the next two weeks, until June 27th, it will open from midday to midnight every day.
Then, from June 30th to July 10th, it will be open from 4pm until midnight.
8. The theme song is a surprise
Well, if you're talking about the official anthem, we still don't know what it sounds like. But you can expect something big from French superstar DJ David Guetta, who will unveil it at a concert on the Champ-de-Mars on June 9th, the eve of the tournament.
He called on 1 million fans to collaborate on the song (see below), so we can expect great things.
If, however, you're talking about the official fan song, it's unfortunately a cover of the hit song from Kiss, “I was made for lovin' you”. The French band behind the new atrocity, Skip The Use, has changed the word “baby” from the chorus to the phrase “my team” (I was made for lovin' you, my team). See it here.
9. I'm not a football fan, what does it mean for me?
For starters, if you're not a football fan it's amazing you've read this far.
But, you deserve to know that the Champ-de-Mars park will be closed from May 23rd in the lead up to the tournament, which runs from June 10th to July 10th.
After that, Paris and France should return to normal. Hang in there.
Member comments