Euros 2024: Football demonstrates its power to inspire and divide

A tournament of passion, controversy, and unity. From fan celebrations to societal tensions, football shows its power to inspire and divide.

Transcript

00:00Goals, euphoria and cheers from all over Europe. The European Championship in Germany has largely

00:08been a celebration of football, marked by joy, unity and excitement. However, some nationalist

00:14and extremist incidents have marred the event. Notably, a Turkish player and several fans

00:18displayed the grey wolf salute, a gesture linked to Turkish nationalism. Such incidents

00:23have deterred some fans from fully enjoying the tournament.

00:26I see a great potential, that it unites people, but also the exact opposite, the saying

00:33of hooligans or simply strict nationalist, patriotic, right-wing, radical people abuse

00:46the sport or exactly this, I call it spirit around it, exactly for that and unfortunately

00:53you hear again and again about violence among fans, in sport.

01:00The tournament has provided many people with a chance to escape from the constant crises.

01:05Henk van Beek, CEO of the Dutch Oranjebos, hopes the event has brought people closer

01:10together.

01:11I really hope so, because what you see here is joy, is happiness and I think a lot of

01:18people need it, so I hope so, I really hope so, I hope this brings back some smiles on

01:26the faces of people.

01:28At this tournament, especially the Scottish and Dutch fans have stolen the hearts of many

01:33Germans. It seems that football has managed to unite the Europeans a little, even if only

01:38for four weeks. People have made friends and experienced their own personal summer fairytale

01:422024.

01:49Go Dutch!

01:52Go Dutch!