Dimmed light, a contemplative mood and Christmas sounds: to get in the mood for Christmas in Germany’s largest football stadium, Borussia Dortmund had for the third time invited to “Dortmund sings Christmas carols.”
Dimmed light, a contemplative mood and Christmas sounds: to get in the mood for Christmas in Germany’s largest football stadium, Borussia Dortmund had for the third time invited to “Dortmund sings Christmas carols.”
BVB set a new crowd record for the pleasant event with 68,357 people accepting the invitation, which has now become a tradition during Advent. In particular, families with children flocked to Signal Iduna Park and formed “the biggest Christmas choir in the world”, as the moderators Heiko Wasser and Norbert Dickel said at the welcome ceremony.
The moderators welcomed Dr. Reinhard Rauball as the first guest on the stage, which was set up on the lower tier of the east stand and decorated with a large Christmas tree. “The family is the focus of the Christmas season. Borussia Dortmund has developed to such an extent that all those that support us have become part of the Borussia Dortmund family. We are proud of that,” said the BVB president. “It’s unbelievable: two years ago, 20,000 Borussia fans came, last year there were 40,000 and today over 68,000 turned up. It’s the biggest singing festival of its kind in the world.”
Just like a game of football, two 45-minute halves took place, in which 24 traditional and modern Christmas carols were sung – from “softly the snow trickles” to “Merry Christmas everywhere” to “Kling Glöckchen” and “Jingle Bells”. The BVB anthem “Leuchte auf mein Stern, Borussia” and the football classic “You’ll never walk Alone” rounded off the program. The evening’s guests included soul and R&B icon Joy Denalane, songwriter Joris and trumpeter and entertainer Bruce Kapusta, who all showed off their musical skills. Actor Wotan Wilke Möhring, a fanatical BVB fan, read the Christmas story just like he did last year.
Many BVB players could not resist the Christmas mood in Borussia Dortmund’s living room, including Marco Reus, Roman Bürki, Marcel Schmelzer, Julian Weigl and Lukasz Piszczek. Managing Director Carsten Cramer thanked the massive crowd for turning up: “We never expected Christmas singing to become an integral part.” A large part of the proceeds will go again this year to various social projects in Dortmund.
Christina Reinke
