50 Years of Europa-Park
At a festive gala evening, over 900 prominent guests from the worlds of politics, sport, show business and industry celebrated 50 years of Europa-Park together with the Mack family. Not only did they experience over four and a half hours of artistry and music, but also greetings from personalities such as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Prince Albert II, on whose lapel a Europa-Park pin shimmered, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “What once began as a small theme park with a bold vision is now an international short break destination adored by generations of visitors,” said founder and owner Roland Mack, who received a standing ovation for his speech.
“You have to like people”
Many celebrities such as Jürgen Klopp, DJ BoBo, Andrea Berg and Emil Steinberger recalled their very personal Europa-Park moments. An anniversary Zeppelin airship, which circulated over the park and the region, provided a special flair.
As a flying anniversary greeting with mascots Ed and Edda on the hull, the 75-metre-long Europa-Park Zeppelin airship took lucky participants of the Zeppelin competition on a flight.
People
Emmanuel Macron, President of France: We need concrete projects that will further strengthen Franco-German friendship. The Mack family of entrepreneurs, who run Germany’s largest theme park, are regarded as pioneers of these kinds of cross-border Franco-German projects. Like you, I believe in Europe. We must continue to move towards the Europe of tomorrow, which is more citizen-friendly, more agile, more cooperative and more efficient, and which has more confidence in its ability to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Andrea Berg, pop singer: Europa-Park is wonderful. It has something for everyone. You can visit with the whole family and everyone goes home fascinated and happy. It’s really fascinating what the people here achieve – they do it with love, with joy, and you can feel this vision everywhere. It’s one big family. That’s the motto: nothing truly great has ever been achieved without love. You can feel that here.
Jürgen Klinsmann, world and European football champion: 50 Years of Europa-ParkIt’s amazing how many millions of people you are making happy. My compliments and many congratulations to you.
Barbara Schöneberger, TV presenter: Europa-Park Rust is – and I’m just saying this from the perspective of an East German who lives in Berlin – simply the only reason to come to this region. Because it’s really far away from where I come from.
Andrej Plenkovic, Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia: 50 years of hard work, 50 years of creativity, 50 years in which you have brought Europe together in a very clever and educational way. Here in this theme park, which is visited by several million people every year. Thank you very much for choosing Croatia as a location here in Rust.
The former world-class swimmer Franziska van Almsick: I visited the Rulantica water park with my foundation, which teaches children to swim. My swimming goggles and swimming cap are buried in the foundations. No water park is more beautiful than Rulantica – thank you so much, Mack family!
Otto Waalkes, singer, cartoonist, actor: Dear Mack Family. Many congratulations on your 50th anniversary! It’s so amazing! 50 years! Europa-Park is 50 and I’m turning up my nose. Don’t think it isn’t going to take its toll on you – then you’ll be 60, or maybe 80, and who knows, maybe even 100! Yeah! Hollaladio! All the very best!
Judith Rakers, TV presenter: Dear Mack family, I wish you all the best! We know each other a little and I know what a wonderful, passionate family of entrepreneurs you are. And combining passion and entrepreneurship is always a good idea, and we can all see how successful it can be at Europa-Park.
Günther H. Oettinger, former Minister President of Baden-Württemberg: You have created something unique. I am grateful to have been your friend for decades and to have experienced many inaugurations and expansions. We look forward to more ideas and more attractions here in Rust.
Iris Berben, actress: Congratulations on making so many people happy for such a long time. Young and old alike. I really love coming here. Thank you very much!
Michael “Bully” Herbig, director: So, dear Mack family and the entire Europa-Park team. You are 50, I am approaching 60. We are only seven years apart, so to speak. I wish you fantastically amazing success for the next 50 years. It’s great that you exist – you are simply the best.
Wolfgang Niedecken, singer: What you are achieving here is a great achievement. Congratulations to the Mack family on this incredible piece of work. It’s amazing, I’m completely blown away.
Christoph Werner, CEO of the dm chain of retail stores: “Europa-Park is an inspiring success story of entrepreneurial courage, clear vision and an endless love of detail. It shows what is possible when people are committed to their dreams. We wish Europa-Park and its team all the best for the future and many more great ideas!”
Giovanni Zarrella, singer: You have made so many families happy. You have entertained so many people and sent them home happier than when they arrived. That should be the goal. All the best for the next 50 years, I’ll be there.
Jürgen Klopp visited the then newly opened Europa-Park with his father when he was eight years old. “It was something very special,” recalls the championship-winning coach. Decades later, he strolled through the themed worlds of Germany’s largest theme park once again. He rediscovered many of the attractions he marvelled at as a child in all their new splendour – and was just as amazed as the little boy from Freudenstadt had been back then. “This is simply a wonderful place where dreams come true,” enthused Klopp.
Beatrice Egli, pop singer and TV presenter: I have been coming here regularly for 30 years. I grew up with you, ever since I was little. You showed me the world of fantasy and roller-coasters. Have a fabulous celebration and here’s to many more wonderful decades. And all the best to the entire Mack family.
Günther Jauch, TV presenter: Many congratulations! I wish for all members of the Mack family, that there will always be enough children and grandchildren around to continue this exceptional work. That’s quite a task.
Emil Steinberger, 92, Swiss cabarettist: Europa-Park is actually the hotspot of Europe. My wife Niccel and I have a strong connection to Europa-Park, including a star on the Walk of Fame and daily delights in the Enchanted Forest Cinema. The impressions are just so powerful. These innovations, this creativity. Many people can be creative, but you also have to be able to put this creativity into practice. With absolute precision and specialisation. We are completely blown away every time. I used to be a roller-coaster rider, but I don’t do that anymore. I’m afraid I’ll tense my stomach muscles too much because I always scream “Nooooooo” when going down.
Professor Stefan Lindl, chair of European cultural history at the University of Augsburg: parks and gardens have a tradition dating back thousands of years and are truly biblical – just think of paradise: an enclosed place where there is no pain or sorrow. A place of delight. Parks and gardens also have philosophical and theological dimensions. They are different places, secluded and exclusive. They are built for pleasure, far away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Europa-Park, which was partly built in a centuries-old castle park, also follows this tradition. Parks are places where people can seek well-being: the good life. Parks are cultural and historical places that should be free of pain and worry.
Dieter Bohlen, TV presenter and entertainer: This family is truly world class. You really give it your all, you create world-class entertainment that I can only dream of. You are more successful than anyone else! Stay healthy and all the best, Dieter.
Bülent Ceylan, comedian: Hello and heads up, Europa-Park! At 50, you’re still young, so here’s a German-Turkish happy birthday greeting for you.
Europa-Park is also a symbol of Europe: the idea of Europe has been part of our family for generations. Our guests feel this every day. Even after being held as a prisoner of war in France, my father Franz never said a bad word about our French friends. I’ve always firmly believed in the European idea, and some say that Roland Mack has a German, French and Swiss heart.
We always look at things from the guest’s perspective. Every day. We invest in quality, in emotion, in presence. The success of Europa-Park is no coincidence. It is the result of passion, hard work – and the unconditional will to make things possible that no one thought possible before.
I would like to offer my sincere congratulations on the 50th anniversary of Europa-Park. The Mack family demonstrates an impressive record of tradition, vision and success. In 2026, Monaco will open as the 18th themed area in the park. Our partnership will begin in November with a circus performance. All the very best for the future! Prince Albert II, Head of State of the Principality of Monaco
Europa-Park in Rust is a symbol of European unity and diversity in action. Every year, millions of visitors to Europa-Park experience a Europe characterised by freedom, diversity and an open society. Today we need this more than ever. I would therefore like to thank you, the Mack family and all Europa-Park employees, for 50 years of entrepreneurial dedication, European pioneering spirit and inexhaustible innovative strength, as well as countless wonderful memories that you have given to generations of visitors from all over Europe. Friedrich Merz, Chancellor of Germany
Europa-Park is an incredible success story. We are just a few metres away from a border that people used to tell children was a border between sworn enemies. Today, children come to you and experience Europe in a playful way. What a wonderful step forward for civilisation. Europa-Park symbolises belief in the power of people. What you have achieved here is a testament to hard work, initiative and, ultimately, to the power of people. That is what has made our country so strong and so successful in recent decades.
You are highly innovative, highly successful employers with fantastic jobs. Europa-Park symbolises this wonderfully too. You have created a place where people don’t live in bubbles, but meet each other face to face. Across all divides, rich and poor, young and old, from all different nations. We don’t need thinner threads of conversation in our societies, we need thicker ones. We need to talk to each other more. Only then are democracy and society possible.
You achieve this with a deeply European approach. You have employees from many different countries who work to ensure that guests from many countries in Europe and around the world have a wonderful time here. Even 80 years after the end of the Second World War, we must not allow European inspiration to fade. And that is why the European idea that you embody here is so wonderful.
Professor Stephan Harbarth, President of the Federal Constitutional Court
Roland Mack und Professor Stephan Harbarth
“Man only plays when in the full meaning of the word he is a man, and he is only completely a man when he plays,” said Friedrich Schiller. His words express what I feel. Experiencing joy and sharing joy is the elixir of life. Joy connects people, just as Europa-Park connects people. France is just a stone’s throw away across the Rhine, a river that was once a symbol of Franco-German enmity and now marks a border that no longer exists. Germans, French and Swiss people experience the region around Europa-Park as a shared space where people share their everyday lives in cultural harmony. Europa-Park plays a significant role in this sense of togetherness. Dear Mack family, dear employees of Europa-Park, you have rendered outstanding services to Franco-German friendship and to Europe. I thank you for that! Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
I congratulate Europa-Park on its 50th birthday. For me, it is the most beautiful and best theme park ever. I have spent many unforgettable days there with my children – and soon perhaps with my grandchildren too. I was particularly impressed by the European themed areas, the food, the service and the quality. The only pity is that the park is not in Bavaria. Markus Söder, Minister President of Bavaria
I am convinced that Franz Mack and Roland Mack are outstanding German entrepreneurs and that they have internalised something that many people today have lost sight of. Namely, gratitude for being able to live in peace and freedom with democracy and the rule of law in Europe after two world wars. This was the attitude of William Fulbright in America, Winston Churchill, Robert Schuman, Carlo Schmid and Konrad Adenauer, Charles De Gaulle and Alcide de Gasperi. They were all united by the conviction that Europe must become a unique project of peace and success. For the latter, this was often based on a deeply Christian understanding. It was based on a fundamental ethical stance that believed in the cohesive power of people, that believed in the good in people, knowing what people were capable of.
Excerpts from Christian Wulff, former President of Germany
The film centres on Edda, the daughter of fairground owner Erwin. She dreams of becoming a racing driver. When she more or less accidentally climbs into the cockpit of racing driver Ed, a turbulent race filled with speed, emotion and humour begins across Europe. Ed and Edda are not only racing for victory – they also want to save Erwin’s fairground, which is in big trouble. In addition, they must uncover and overcome a sabotage conspiracy.
The production was realised by Mack Magic and Mack Animation with an international creative team, including Oscar winning composer Volker Bertelmann for the soundtrack. Renowned voice actors such as Gemma Arterton, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Hayley Atwell feature in the original English version. The German version features Jan Delay, DJ BoBo, Steven Gätjen and none other than Roland Mack.
Academy Award winner Volker Bertelmann and Michael Mack.
