(Reuters) – Fans starved of live athletics action could consider bringing popcorn to an event in Duesseldorf next month with top pole vaulters set to compete at a drive-in cinema.
Germany’s top pole vaulters Raphael Holzdeppe, Bo Kanda Lita Baehre and Torben Blech will be in action at the June 12 “Flight Night” event, with fans able to watch from the confines of their cars at the Autokino Duesseldorf drive-in.
They will also have the option of watching it live on big screens and organisers will ensure that all health protocols are adhered to, European Athletics said in a statement https://www.european-athletics.org/news/article=world-class-athletics-returns-dusseldorf-june/index.html.
“I’m looking forward to the first showdown after the lockdown. The competitive atmosphere, the great atmosphere for which the Duesseldorf audience is known,” Lita Baehre said.
“I’m sure this event will also be a real highlight due to the special location. I don’t think a pole vaulter ever jumped in a drive-in cinema.”
Germany, which has recorded more than 176,000 cases of the novel coronavirus and over 8,100 deaths, is the most successful large European nation in curbing the spread of the virus, thanks partly to massive testing.
The German Bundesliga became the first major soccer league to resume since the novel coronavirus outbreak shut down sports earlier this year.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
