Snabbare, längre, högre - och framför allt spännande! Tyskland är ett riktigt sportland, ett fotbollens land. Här arrangeras stora tävlingshelger som lockar hundratusentals entusiaster, och den största seglarträffen i världen äger rum här, och då gäller alltid följande motto även besökarna: ”Det viktigaste är inte att vinna, utan att delta!”
Sixdays Bremen
It is the trademark blend of sporting action, fun, thrills and live entertainment that makes Sixdays in Bremen such a success. Cycling and light motorcycle races are held every evening during the six-day event. A highlight is the midnight race that sees drivers careering around the track to party music. There is musical entertainment on offer away from the arena as well, with crowds worked up into a frenzy by bands representing a variety of genres.
The Ladies German Open in Markt Indersdorf near Munich has attracted Europe's top women golfers every year since 2008. This international tournament is part of the women's European tour and sees more than 100 professional women golfers competing on the course at Golfpark Gut Häusern. They are cheered on by around 30,000 spectators.
The organisers of the BMW Open, an ATP tournament, see their event as a social occasion that the whole family can enjoy – and they do much to ensure that it's not just tennis fans who will be making their way to the English Garden in Munich . There are hands-on activities for children and grown-ups as well as the ProAm tournament that pitches tennis legends against celebrity players. Famous names from the tennis world such as Ivan Lendl, Roger Federer and Mikhail Youzhny provide plenty of sporting highlights.
Every year in July, the world's top tennis players gather in Stuttgart for the MercedesCup. This clay-court tournament is part of the ATP world tour and takes place in the district of Weissenhof. Recent winners of this prestigious event include star players such as Juan Carlos Ferrero, Albert Montañés, Jérémy Chardy, Juan Martin del Potro, Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer.
International German Open at the Rothenbaum club in Hamburg
The International German Open has been held at the Rothenbaum club in Hamburg since 1892, making it Germany's longest-running tennis tournament. Today, it is the only tournament in Germany to be part of the ATP World Tour 500 and is also one of the 20 largest tennis tournaments in the world. Its illustrious list of former champions includes tennis greats such as Rod Laver, Gottfried von Cramm, Budge Patty, Fred Stolle, Tony Roche, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix has been held in Stuttgart since 1978, making it the longest-running women's indoor tournament in Europe. The very first player to win here was US tennis star Tracy Austin with other famous names such as Martina Navratilova, Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis following in her footsteps. Since 2009 the tournament has been played on clay, making history as the first indoor clay tournament on the international tour.
Exotic dragon boats first made an appearance on Pfaffenteich Lake in Schwerin in 1992. They were a real hit with spectators and the team from Schwerin's Canoe Racing Association soon became German vice champions. A year later Schwerin hosted the European Championships. Today the festival is one of the biggest in Europe with up to 200 teams from all over the world taking part in the event. The accompanying entertainment includes live bands, fun regattas and firework displays.
