The Men’s EHF EURO 2024 opened with a world record game at the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA in Dusseldorf on 10 January, and the first men’s EHF European Championship ever to be held in Germany has since set out to become a record-breaking one.

A total of 53,586 fans, a world record attendance for a handball match, were present at the tournament’s opening matchday, breaking the previous record of 44,189 fans which had been set in 2014.

The electrifying atmosphere in Dusseldorf spilled over to the preliminary round venues in Berlin, Mannheim and Munich. On several matchdays arenas were sold out, and across all 36 preliminary round matches a capacity of 98 per cent was recorded. This means that more than 500,000 fans have already visited the Men’s EHF EURO 2024.

The current numbers see the championship on track to reach the one million fans milestone, which would mark another record in EHF EURO history.

TV figures in European key markets have been equally impressive. Hosts Germany were watched by more than seven million fans in their preliminary round matches broadcast free-to-air by ARD and ZDF. All three games recorded a market share of close to 30 per cent.

In Croatia, the first two matches of the Croatian national team (vs Spain and vs Austria) were followed by almost one million people each, equalling a market share of 50 per cent.

In Denmark, the craving for handball continues. After it had been announced that 15 of the most watched 20 TV programmes in 2023 were international handball matches featuring the Danish national team, there was no dent in enthusiasm in early 2024.

Denmark’s three preliminary round matches were watched by between 1.1 and 1.2 million, with the best figures reached for the final preliminary round match against Portugal on Monday – a match watched by 1.215 million (73.6 per cent share).

There is no shortage on excitement in the digital world either. The channels of the European Handball Federation covering the Men’s EHF EURO 2024 grew by a combined 67,000 followers across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube in less than one week.

The most successful video was a timelapse showing how the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA was turned from football stadium into a handball arena in a span of over two weeks.

The video was viewed 6.2 million times on the EHF EURO Instagram channel and another 2.1 million times on TikTok.

The Men’s EHF EURO 2024 continues with the main round in Hamburg and Cologne. The final weekend with the semi-finals on 26 and the final matches on 28 January is also played in Cologne’s LANXESS Arena.

EHF President Michael Wiederer comments: “The preliminary round left an unbelievable impression. Many arenas are sold out and there are thousands of people supporting teams that sometimes are not even ‘theirs’. I have seen so many close matches because the players are inspired by this atmosphere. If arenas are full and the atmosphere is great, matches are better.

"Broadcasters are interested in showing top-level events and people get excited if even if they are not in the hall. It is a win-win situation for everyone involved and helped by reaching these outstanding TV and digital figures early in the tournament. We are now looking forward to prolonging this success into the main round and the final weekend.”

Julien Ternisien, Senior Vice President, Summer Sports, says: “The Men’s EHF EURO 2024 has set a new benchmark in terms of spectator attendance, broadcast figures and digital impact, providing a robust indicator of the event's continued commercial viability. Our collaborative approach together with the EHF and German Handball Association is providing many opportunities to reach a growing and engaged audience. These achievements highlight the event's popularity and underscore its potential as a lucrative platform for partners, paving the way for sustained commercial success.“