It's still a month until the opening game, but the approaching UEFA European Football Championship is already causing long traffic jams in the centre of Berlin. For several days now, the middle section of the Straße des 17. Juni has been closed. Between the Großer Stern and the Brandenburg Gate, nothing will be moving until the end of July – none of the many cars, bicycles and buses that usually run there. This also applies to an alternative route through the Tiergarten, making it more difficult to reach the Chancellery and the Bundestag in the coming weeks.

In front of the Brandenburg Gate, a fan mile is set to be recreated, proclaimed of course as being larger and more beautiful than ever before. There will be a 24,000 square meter area completely covered with artificial turf. Work on this has already begun. A „pop-up park“ is planned with grandstands, giant screens for broadcasting, numerous food and drink stalls, as well as stands for sponsors such as the „Home of adidas Football“. The Berlin Senate has agreed to spend 17.5 million euros on the entire spectacle. A Sommermärchen 2.0 (which refers to the summer fairytale of the 2006 World Cup, with its blue skies and happy atmosphere) will not be lacking due to a lack of fan infrastructure.

In return, the marketing agency Visit Berlin has hopes to attract 2.5 million money spending fans. Some are attending the six games at the Olympic Stadium, while others will just enjoy the longest fan mile in the world, with the „largest football goal in the world“ in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The contributions to be made by the weather and the performance of the German team remain the big unknowns in the calculations. In any case, taking into account not only Berlin's, but also the overall economic situation, the German Institute for Economic Research (IW) cautioned several weeks ago that "major sporting events do not ignite economic booms.“ This was illustrated by the 2006 World Cup.

IW economic expert Michael Grömling pointed out that while many consumers do take the Euros as an opportunity to buy a new television, invite friends for public viewing, or drink an extra beer while cheering, they save money elsewhere. „As a result, consumer spending doesn't necessarily increase, but shifts," he said. And the many foreign fans? According to Grömling, they will potentially displace other tourists. Also, there has been no tournament related investment in new roads or other infrastructure.

However, the IW expert also acknowledges that the psychological effects of a Sommermärchen – „the emotional return“ – should not be underestimated. The Euros can brighten the mood, and improve the image of the host country: „Image maintenance is an enormous gain, especially against the backdrop of weak direct investments“, says Grömling. This is something that all the Berliners complaining about closed streets should keep in mind.