It seems the eve of Christmas Eve is becoming Berlin’s showcase tradition as another attendance record was set yesterday at Union’s stadium. 27,500 people gathered to sing in unison and enjoy the festive atmosphere.

We brought you some background into the amazing initiative of Union Berlin supporters last year, so time we’ll focus on the numbers. Yesterday 27,500 people gathered inside Alte Försterei in southern Berlin for carol singing. No floodlights, just candlelight. No football game, just singing – but apart from carols some Union football chants roared at times.

This entertaining and unique tradition has grown from 89 people to 27,500 in just 11 years. This means a huge 5,000 increase from 2012 alone! And it seems it has now reached its limits.

Union has already been using the pitch to get another 6,500 people inside for a few years now and this year’s gathering was the largest thanks to the new main grandstand, opened half a year back. The crowd was so thick yesterday that the event was slightly delayed until everyone was able to get inside.