Germany's biathlon stronghold is threatened with a financial fiasco

According to information from Thüringer Allgemeine, a deficit of over one million euros will arise due, among other things, to the implementation of the hygiene concept and the lower audience capacity. The state of Thuringia wants to cover the loss. Just last week, the IBU world association decided on the double event in order to reduce the travel strain on athletes in the wake of the pandemic. For Hartmut Schubert, State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Oberhof representative of the state government, approval for the double event was unavoidable despite the expected losses. “If we had not said yes to the request from the International World Federation and instead let Ruhpolding go first, we might not have been considered as World Cup organizers in the future,” explained the SPD politician. Also due to the host role at the 2023 World Cup, a cancellation would not have been a good signal, the 60-year-old continued. Viewers – yes or no? It is still unclear how many spectators will be allowed to attend the two dates from January 7th to 11th and 13th to 17th. The local health department's decision is expected to be made in mid-November. “Given the high requirements, more than 9000 per day will hardly be possible,” said Schubert, dampening hopes. According to the organizers, a total of 17.000 tickets have been sold so far. In recent years, up to 25.000 spectators watched the competitions on the Rennsteig every day. Overall, the Biathlon World Cup brought in an increase of around 200.000 euros.

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Germany's biathlon stronghold is threatened with a financial fiasco

The biathlon stronghold Oberhof is threatened with a loss of millions at the double World Cup in January.

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