Dusseldorf

Düsseldorf is the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, with 620,523 inhabitants the second largest city in the federal state and the seventh largest city in Germany. Düsseldorf is part of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region with around ten million inhabitants and the Rhineland metropolitan region with 8.6 million inhabitants. The city lies in the heart of the central European economic area.

In 1288, the place at the mouth of the small river Düssel in the Rhine received city rights. In the course of industrialization in Germany, Düsseldorf became the "desk of the Ruhr area" and became a major city when it exceeded the mark of 100,000 inhabitants in 1882.

The Rhine metropolis is one of the five most important economic centers in Germany with strong international ties. Düsseldorf is a trade fair city and home to many listed companies, including the Henkel group. In addition, it is the German location for auditing, management consulting and fashion with the highest turnover, as well as an important financial and stock exchange centre. It is also a leading location for the art trade in Germany.

Düsseldorf has several Rhine ports. Its airport is the intercontinental hub of North Rhine-Westphalia. The city hosts 22 universities, including the renowned Düsseldorf Art Academy and the Heinrich Heine University. Düsseldorf also enjoys national fame for its old town (“the longest bar in the world”), its shopping boulevard Königsallee (“Kö”), its Düsseldorf carnival, the Fortuna Düsseldorf football club and the Düsseldorfer EG ice hockey club. Other attractions are numerous museums and galleries as well as the Rhine promenade and the modern media harbour. The cityscape is also characterized by numerous skyscrapers and church towers, the 240 meters high Rhine Tower, many monuments and seven Rhine bridges. Notable is a large number of East Asian residents, including the Japanese community, which forms the largest Japanese community and the only Japantown in Germany.

MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA 

Capacity: 50,000 spectators

Handball history: The state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia has handball history - including the former European Cup winner TuRu Düsseldorf. As a venue, Düsseldorf is currently present with the PSD Bank Dome for games of the Bundesliga or the national handball team - and the “German Day of Handball in 2021.. The MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA in Düsseldorf will soon stand for handball history. The stadium, home of the football club Fortuna Düsseldorf, is flexible, changeable and multifunctional. The arena is the only stadium that can be covered, blacked out and heated at the same time, making it unique in Europe.

Matches of the EHF EURO 2024: opening game

Burkhard Hintzsche, city director and head of sports department in the City of Düsseldorf: "The trust of the DHB and the EHF underlines that Düsseldorf is a top location for national and international sports events. Invictus Games 2023, UEFA EURO 2024, the World University Games 2025 and the EHF EURO 2024 – the coming years are casting their shadows.”

Who plays in Düsseldorf? 

Opening matches of group A featuring hosts Germany, multiple European, World and Olympic champions France, North Macedonia and Switzerland will throw off on 10 January in front of more than 50,000 people in MEKRUR Spiel-Arena. 

For this record-breaking match day, France will play North Macedonia at 18:00 while the hosts Germany start their home EHF EURO journey against Switzerland. 

Not everyone will be able to say they witnessed a world-record match live at the MERKUR Spiel-Arena. If you want to be one of them, head to our ticket shop and secure your seat.