The organizers of the European Championship are also preparing for terrorist threats, hooligans and cyber attacks

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The authorities are preparing for the summer European football championship with even stricter controls and security measures than those employed in the matches of the German Bundesliga, in which the Hungarian national team will be in the same group as the host Germany, as well as Switzerland and Scotland, reports MTI.

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The organizing committee informed the German news agency dpa that security rings will be set up around the stadiums and that additional measures will be taken. The safety of the participating national teams and the fans is above all else for the German authorities during the tournament that starts on June 14 and lasts until July 14, the organizers emphasized.

Admission to the ten venues hosting the European Championship matches will take place in two stages. First, at the entrance to the outer security ring, the electronic ticket that can be presented on a mobile phone is checked by the security staff, as well as the entrants are searched and what the spectators bring with them. From bags, for example, a maximum of A4 paper of the same size can be brought in. At the next, inner security rings, the entrance is checked again at the turnstiles, and if this is successful, the fans are searched again, who can then enter the stadium area.

Parking will be strictly limited, no vehicles may park in the immediate vicinity of the stadiums, and only those with appropriate and valid authorization may enter the designated security zones. Fans arriving by car will have to park far from the arenas and can reach the match venues by public transport.

Depending on the size and infrastructure of the given stadium, between 800 and 1,300 security personnel will be on duty in each host city on match day, but the organizers emphasized that they expect a basically peaceful audience.

“Most of the fans coming to the European Championship will not be fans of local clubs, we expect an international audience that is mostly unfamiliar with the venue” – noted the organizing committee.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that approximately 2.7 million spectators are expected in the stadiums, while the number of people in the fan zones can reach up to 12 million during the European Championship.

“We are not only looking at the Islamist terrorist threat, but also hooligans and other violent criminals, as well as cyber-attacks from a security point of view” Faeser stated. The organizing committee added that extreme heat, possible mass panic, and an unforeseen technical error could also pose a risk.

Border control will also be tightened during the European Championship, but this does not mean permanent, but random control. The Hungarian national team starts the tournament against Switzerland on June 15 in Cologne, then on June 19 against the German team in Stuttgart, and on June 23 against the Scots in Stuttgart.