Behind the scenes at the LOTTO Thüringen ARENA am Rennsteig
Backstage tours of the sports venue start again in April
The offices of the functionaries, the underground tunnel system or the shooting range up close: From April 1, 2025, guests can once again take a look behind the scenes at the LOTTO Thüringen ARENA am Rennsteig on exclusive backstage tours. During the Easter holidays special children's tours are also on the program.
They can enter areas that are otherwise only accessible to athletes, coaches and officials and experience the sports venue from a completely different perspective: after the end of the 2024/2025 winter season the Oberhofer Sport und Event GmbH is once again offering exclusive backstage tours for fans of all ages.
In 120 minutes, guests take a look at the history of the LOTTO Thüringen ARENA am Rennsteig, which serves as a training and competition venue for young talent and competitive sport, and gain an insight into what happens during major events such as the Biathlon World Cup, which attracts thousands of fans to the Rennsteig town every year.
The first tour kicks off on Tuesday, April 1 at 2 pm. In April alone, there are eight more dates on the program (see info box below). The dates for the other months will be published on the homepage www.events-oberhof.de and on the social media channels of Oberhofer Sport und Event GmbH. Tickets (25 euros for adults, 10 euros for children and young people from 10 to 17 years, free for children up to and including 9 years) can be purchased in the ticket shop at tickets.events-oberhof.de and at the Tourist Information Oberhof (Crawinkler Straße 2, 98559 Oberhof).
Three kids‘ tours with surprises
During the Thuringian Easter vacations, special children's tours are taking place for the first time as part of the Oberhof vacation program. On Friday, April 11, 2025 at 10 a.m., on Friday, April 18, 2025 at 10 a.m. and on Friday, April 25, 2025 at 10 a.m., young architecture and sports fans will be guided through the facility, where the stars of winter sports celebrate great success. The 90-minute tours will be rounded off with laser shooting and a small Easter nest hunt. Tickets for the children's tours are only available at the Tourist Information Oberhof.
Backstage tours were offered for the first time during the Oberhof Biathlon World Cup in 2010. The offer has enjoyed great popularity. During the most recent BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup in January 2025 alone, 685 fans were interested, and 697 at the 2024 World Cup. “The demand during the World Cup is enormous, many tours are fully booked well in advance. In order to use the sports venue all year round, we expanded the offer last year and now offer tours from April to October,” says Bernd Wernicke, Managing Director of Oberhofer Sport und Event GmbH.
During 29 backstage tours in 2024, 323 adults, 24 young people (aged 10 to 17) and 13 children (up to the age of 9) went behind the scenes at the impressive sports facility. “The new offer has gone very well. We are expecting even more guests this season, especially as there is also great demand for private tours by companies and organizations is also high,” says Bernd Wernicke.
Backstage tours in April:
Tuesday, April 01, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Thursday, April 03, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, April 05, 2025 at 10 a.m.
Tuesday, April 08, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 10 a.m.
Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Photo: Backstage tours
Caption: Backstage tours, like here during the BMW IBU World Championships Biathlon 2023 in Oberhof, have also been offered between April and October since last year. On April 1, 2025 the new season starts.
Photo source: Christian Heilwagen/Oberhofer Sport und Event GmbH