The fantastic story of Hubert Bihler, an all-round volunteer
From the FIFA World Cup to the Olympic Games, Hubert Bihler has worked as a volunteer at more than 50 competitions around the world. An incredibly rewarding experience, as he tells us here!
In a room of his house in Dunningen, in the Black Forest (Baden-Württemberg, Germany), diplomas, banners, accreditations, photos and a variety of other objects tell the story of his experience as a volunteer at all the big sports events since the mid-2000s. The outside of his house sports similar decorations. It is his passion for sport that has led this 70-year-old, married for 46 years and now a father and grandfather, all over the world, to help contribute to the success of these international competitions and make friends everywhere!
How did you become a volunteer?
After I retired, I had my first experience as a volunteer at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany in 2005, and I carried on with the World Cup in 2006. I was based in Stuttgart, and it became like a disease for me: I went on to volunteer for all the big international sports events. I remembered that I had friends in Vancouver; so in 2010, I sent my first Olympic Games application to go to Canada! And I found myself at the sliding centre in Whistler, where I worked for the media in the mixed zone. By the ice track there were lots of German luge, bobsleigh and skeleton athletes, and I met them all. It was fantastic.
Where does this passion come from?
It comes from the fact that I’ve been involved in sport all my life. I was a football player when I was young, and captained our team here in the Black Forest region where I live. Then I was a referee and a coach. That’s been my life. I started volunteering after I retired. The idea was to stay involved in sport, to continue my passion. After my experience at the FIFA World Cup in 2006, I was given responsibilities; I had to coordinate the volunteers working for the media and be in charge of placing the photographers on the field of play. I did the same thing in Kiev for the UEFA Euro 2012, and in Porto Alegre for the World Cup in 2014. I was also in South Africa in 2010 and Russia in 2018, so that makes five football World Cups in all.
I’ve almost always been in charge of a team. It would take hours to list the names of all the photographers I know, and those of my friends all over the world who’ve invited me to go and visit them in their countries after we met during the competitions.
Tell us about your first Olympic experience!
Before the Games in London, I was a team leader for the university athletics championships held in the Olympic Stadium, where I looked after the photographers. Then I was a volunteer for the Paralympic Games, once again as the leader of a team (made up entirely of British people), again to help the photographers with their work. But during the Games themselves, I was just a team member like the others.
Then you went to the Winter Games in Sochi…
I had a great time in Russia. I had to take a week off to go back to Germany, as my wife had had to go into hospital unexpectedly for an operation. Then I went back. I was in charge of ticketing in the media centre for the high-demand competitions. That’s where I met my best Russian friend, Sergei Pilipenko, and we’re still in contact today. I showed him all the events I’d taken part in as a volunteer, nearly 50, and he said: “Let’s go and see the Olympic flame and get a photo of us shaking hands in front of it to show the world that we can work together with no limits, no borders, no politics.”
What happened after you were at those Games?
I come from the world of football, but I love athletics and the Olympic Games: they’re at the top of my list! And what I like most at the Games is athletics. In Rio in 2016, I was based in the Engenho area. There again I was looking after the photographers. That was another fantastic experience, being there and seeing how those people lived. In my job for the athletics events at the Nilton-Santos Olympic Stadium, I met volunteers from all over the planet. Sport really brings people together. It’s marvellous.
Now I know lots of photographers from all over the world. You see the same faces at different events. Generally speaking, I help them to do their job. They’re always in a real hurry. They have to get from one venue to another, so I help them, I give them the information they need and take them to their position on the field of play. I’m always helping them.
Will we see you again in Tokyo in 2020?
At the moment, I’m a candidate to be a volunteer at the Games in Tokyo. That will most likely be my last experience. At 73 years old, I’m thinking about stopping. First I’ll go to Munich for the UEFA Euro 2020 matches, where I’ll be very busy; and the Games in Tokyo will give me a great opportunity to say farewell to volunteering – after more than 50 events in football, at the athletics World Championships in 2009 and 2013 and at the Games.
Why are the Games at the top of your list?
When I say that the Olympic Games are the most important event for me, it’s because of the special feeling I get. You see people from all over the world in a fantastic atmosphere. This experience is repeated at the World Cup, the Euro, in table tennis and in ice hockey. It’s great to experience these occasions where people come together. I could spend hours and hours telling you my stories about humanism, friends, the marvellous feeling of being part of an event in the midst of volunteers from different countries. After the Games in Tokyo, I think I’ll write my memoirs. I’d recommend to anyone who likes sport and wants to contribute to the success of an event to become a volunteer. It’s so rewarding!