Chemnitz and the European cultural region can look back on a sporting weekend. Two major events took place over the last few days: the European Peace Ride and Sports UNITED, the event for all sports in and around Chemnitz. The European Peace Ride and Sports UNITED are part of the programme for the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025.
The European Peace Ride 2023
The riders of the European Peace Ride started on Friday, 8 September 2023 in Görlitz and covered around 500 kilometres and 6,000 metres in altitude over the following days. Their route took them to Mladá Boleslav and Plzeň before finally reaching Chemnitz on Sunday. A total of 200 riders from Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany took part in the event, all of whom joined forces to set an example for peace.
Prominent names such as Tour de France stage winners André Greipel and Marcus Burghardt also took part in the peace ride. But the number of women also increased significantly. 32 women from the "Females4PeaceRide" training group completed the three-day tour.
Culture and sport also came together in this year's Peace Ride in the person of translator and cyclist Lothar Quinkenstein, who took part as a rider and chronicler. He opened the tour on the special train journey from Chemnitz to Görlitz/Zgorzelec on Friday with an essayistic reflection on the connection between cycling, literature and translation. Passionate cyclist Lothar Quinkenstein has been translating the works of Polish Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk for Kampa Verlag in tandem with Lisa Palmes since 2017. The Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation is making the literary excursion possible as part of the European Peace Ride 2023.
On Sunday, 10 September 2023, recreational and amateur cyclists were able to join the peace riders in Chemnitz-Einsiedel and cover the last few kilometres to the finish together. The participants rode into the theatre square to cheers.
Sports UNITED 2023
The second edition of Sports UNITED made it clear that Chemnitz and the European cultural region have much more to offer than cycling. Around 1,000 recreational athletes were represented and showcased the diversity of sports in the city and the region. Hiking, inline skating, running, mountain biking, triathlon and many other activities were on offer from 8 to 10 September.
On Sunday afternoon, the individual groups presented themselves one after the other at the finish line in front of the opera house and were greeted with much applause from the spectators.
Numerous exhibitors, including the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 GmbH, provided a cultural backdrop to the event with live music, interviews and a varied stage programme.
Mountain bike athlete and Youtuber Lukas Knopf provided a special highlight. He offered a city tour on his mountain bike and showed off some tricks in Konkordiapark. The European Peace Ride arrived at the theatre square to the cheers of those present from Sports UNITED and provided a great finale to the event.
