Of course, the European Championships are a big media event, too. Nearly 100 journalists are accredited for the competitions, among them numerous photographers and several camera teams. The TV signal is transmitted worldwide via satellite – theoretically the championships can be followed at the South Pole as well. In Bulgaria, Cyprus, Spain, Finland, Greece, Russia, Slovenia and Turkey the senior competitions could be followed live on TV.

In Germany a summary of the championships will be broadcasted in the sport shows of the big channels.

The catacombs of the Bremen Arena constantly smell of food. The flavour of fresh-baked pretzels wafts through the corridors. The baker near the competition hall hardly aims to satisfy the demand. Behind the scenes a catering team cooks and bakes all day long. 200 volunteers, 600 athletes and attendants and the guests of honour want to eat themselves fill. The kitchen crew for the volunteer’s board almost works around the clock. And this is hard work for the chef: During the championships he has to prepare about 2500 meals for the volunteers alone.

That is true hospitality: Because of the cancelled flights and the associated questions, whether the delegations can leave Bremen on Monday and, if not, where they could stay then, the competition office in the Bremen Arena receives offers for accommodation by the Bremen citizen. Some Hanseatics invite athletes to their homes and to sleep on sofas and spare beds, if they have to stay in Bremen.

A good job did the former German top gymnast Magdalena Brzeska when she guided readers of the Bremen daily newspaper Weser Kurier through the area. They won this behind the scenes guide and could visit the training hall, media centre and competition area yesterday. 31-year-old Brzeska, who were German Champion for 26 times, explained the emotions of gymnasts to give the visitors a feeling for what they are going trough: “When you warm up in the training hall every still is fine, but the nervousness rises with every step, when you go to the competition area.”

Today: Sports and science

Scientists are interested in these Championships, too. A research team of the university of Magdeburg installed cameras at several positions in the competition hall. The videos they make and forms, that the athletes had to fill out before and where they wrote down, what they expect and what they would like to reach, are evaluated. With this the scientists want to compare planned and real performance.

There will be an autograph session of the German group on Saturday, at 4.15 pm in the lobby of the Bremen Arena.

For the European Championships the president of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), Bruno Grandi, arrived in the Bremen Arena. The Italian has been invited by the European Union of Gymnastics UEG and followed the first competition day with excitement in the lodge for guests of honor.

During the opening ceremony the athletes and audience paid tribute to the polish victims of the plane crash in Russia with a minute’s silence and added their condolences to the polish team. The polish flag that hangs in the Bremen Arena is decorated with crapes as a sign of sympathy.

Today: doping tests

Some athletes fear them. The audience sometimes hear of them, but outsiders hardly really know the procedure. Doping tests have become an integral part in competitive sports. They also pertain to the daily business at the European Championship of rhythmic gymnastics.

At first, the highest authority – in this case the European Union of Gymnastics UEG – decides, which gymnasts have to be tested. Usually, the winners are chosen. A chaperon picks up the chosen one and accompanies her on her way to the doping doctor, who then saves the urine sample.

A trainer and, if necessary, an interpreter may accompany the athlete. Gymnasts that are younger than 16 years may take along a confidant, for example a parent.

Pictures of the official training on thursday can be seen on http://barny-th.de/em2010_bremen/em_bremen10_01.htm.