By the end, the unfurled paper rolls should stretch from Munich's Feldherrnhalle to the Siegestor, according to the organisers of the ‘Nicht mit uns’ (‘Not with us’) registered association's petition against far-right extremism, anti-Semitism and racism. From now until 1 October, residents have the opportunity to add their signatures at various locations in the city centre on rain-free days. FC Bayern president Herbert Hainer and honorary president Uli Hoeneß have also added their names to the list. "The shift to the right in Germany and throughout Europe worries me greatly," said Hoeneß, "we are all charged with not standing idly by and watching history repeat itself. It was therefore important to me to once again express our clear stance here." Hainer went on to say that "FC Bayern stands for a liberal-minded, tolerant society - there's no room for discrimination of any kind here". Sending out signals is one thing, said the president: "But above all, it's important to live your attitude. We at FC Bayern want to be a role model and show that diversity in sport and in life in general is an enrichment."
Uli Hoeneß and Herbert Hainer added their signatures to the list at the Viktualienmarkt.
The German record champions routinely promote diversity, not least with their club-wide ‘Red against Racism’ initiative for diversity and against discrimination of all kinds. "FC Bayern must always have its finger on the pulse of the people, and thanks in particular to the commitment of Uli Hoeneß, the club has always been strong in socio-political terms, and we naturally continue to do so at the club: people should feel that FC Bayern is more than just a sports club," said Hainer, "and when divisive forces are at work in our society, sport and all of us should stand up and take countermeasures. Against hatred and agitation, in favour of a well-fortified democracy: we must work together to show that there are many good reasons to stand up for our democracy." Initiator Ron Williams was delighted by the visit of the two FCB representatives: "We're overjoyed that FC Bayern is supporting us today with the visit by its president Herbert Hainer and Uli Hoeneß. The club's ‘Red against Racism’ initiative is fantastic, because it's important that such a world-famous club takes a clear and sustainable stance against hatred and incitement. Thank you to FC Bayern!"
According to the organisers, over 3,000 people already signed up during the campaign's test run. The initiative was launched by former Munich mayor Christian Ude after a bet with the artist Ron Williams that it must be possible to collate at least 100,000 signatures against far-right extremism, anti-Semitism and racism within a few weeks. Hoeneß: "We often had differences of opinion with Christian Ude, who, as you know, is an 1860 Munich fan - but we're united on this issue, with no ifs or buts." Hainer: ‘I heard that on average eight or nine people have to sign up every minute - we hope that many more residents will add their names, whether they're “Reds” or “Blues”, regardless of their heritage or background. Sport shows that there should be no borders - and no differences."
A signal against far-right extremism, anti-Semitism and racism: FC Bayern president Herbert Hainer's signature.
Hainer and Hoeneß met the organisers Ron Williams, Sebastian Roloff (Member of the German Bundestag), Tobias Irl and Michael Dietmayr along with members of the FCB initiative ‘Red against Racism’ for diversity and against discrimination of any kind. Two 500-metre-long rolls of paper will be available on rain-free days from 12 noon to 4 pm in the city centre at Viktualienmarkt next to the Heilig Geist church and in various shops that are involved in this campaign. Around one hundred signatures per metre can fit on the 1.2 metre-wide roll. At the end, the signatures will be digitised and the originals of the rolls will be integrated into the collection of the Munich City Museum. Over 30,000 people have already signed up so far, although the rain of the past few days has made it a little difficult for the organisers. Anyone who would also like to display rolls in their shop, for example, which will then be added to the larger collection, can contact the ‘Nicht mit uns’ association at info@nichtmituns.org.
FC Bayern would once again like to draw attention to another issue:
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