Hello Leipzig: Here’s how Wednesday 4 November 2026 begins

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It remains to be seen whether RB will progress in the Champions League today. Find out here how the public can get to the match. The state parliament is discussing care and local security. The work of war correspondents is fraught with danger, as a film screening this evening – hosted by Reporters Without Borders – will show. The district is offering fewer services today – and anyone who wants to celebrate St Martin’s Day early needs to be in Radefeld from 5 pm.

Premium tram service for the Champions League

When RB Leipzig host Manchester City at 9 pm today, Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe (LVB) are preparing for large numbers of football fans. Tram services will be significantly increased for journeys to and from the match. There will also be timetable changes to regional services. To coincide with the match, the LVB will be operating three special routes: 51, 54 and 56. These will provide additional connections between the main station, Waldplatz, the Sportforum, Wahren and the exhibition grounds.

During the journey to the match, the special trams will run at ten- or 20-minute intervals, depending on the route. Service on the regular tram routes will also be expanded. Routes 1, 3, 4, 7 and 15, as well as the rail replacement service for route 3, will run at ten-minute intervals until around 8.30 pm. The same applies to line 8 between Grünau-Nord, Sportforum Süd and Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz. To ensure fans can get home quickly after the final whistle, LVB is extending its frequent evening service until around 00:15.

Several trams (affectionately known as ‘BIMMEL’ by locals) will then run at 15-minute intervals, with Line 4 running every ten minutes. Special Line 54 will run between Sportforum Ost, Waldplatz and Hauptbahnhof-Westseite every five to ten minutes. Lines 51 and 56 also offer additional return services.

Football fans and commuters should also expect timetable changes on the RE 6 regional express line. Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn (MRB) has announced revised timetables for Wednesday. This affects the service between Leipzig Hauptbahnhof and Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof via Bad Lausick and Geithain. All information regarding this route is summarised HERE ONLINE.

Stadium-goers should travel by public transport where possible and allow a little extra time for the return journey. Up-to-date departure times and connections are available via the LeipzigMOVE app and the Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn timetable enquiry service.

RB Leipzig and Manchester City have faced each other six times so far, all in the Champions League. The record favours the English side, who have won four of those matches. Leipzig have recorded one win, whilst one match ended in a draw. The goal difference stands at 21–9 in favour of Manchester City.

The English side’s 7–0 victory in the second leg of the 2023 round of 16 was particularly emphatic. Leipzig’s only victory to date came in December 2021, a 2–1 win. For the Saxons, the upcoming fixture is also significant in terms of the league table. After three matchdays, RB sit on three points, outside the qualification places for the knockout stages. Manchester City are in tenth place with six points.

A Leipzig victory would take both teams to six points each and improve the Saxons’ chances of progressing. A draw or a defeat would increase the pressure on Leipzig in their remaining four matches. In the group stage, the top eight teams qualify directly for the round of 16, whilst those in positions nine to 24 must go through the play-offs. A final decision on who progresses will therefore not be made on Wednesday.

Care, protection and reappraisal in the State Parliament

In its 35th plenary session of this legislative term today, the Saxon State Parliament will decide, amongst other things, on the Violence Assistance Act and the implementation of the Nursing Assistant Act. The Violence Assistance Act (Parliamentary Paper 8/8308), tabled by the state government, is intended to improve the legal and organisational framework for the protection of people affected by domestic or gender-based violence. This includes women’s and children’s shelters as well as counselling centres. A state parliamentary committee had heard evidence from experts on this matter on 21 September 2026.

The second legislative proposal concerns the introduction of a standardised, nationwide training programme for nursing assistants from 2027. It is intended to replace existing state-level training programmes for care assistants. To this end, Saxony must adapt its responsibilities and regulations in the health sector.

The SPD has also tabled a topical debate entitled ‘Strengthening critical infrastructure – protecting Saxony from sabotage and hybrid threats’. This concerns the security of vital supply systems such as energy, water and communications. Hybrid threats include, amongst other things, cyber-attacks, sabotage and disinformation. However, no separate resolution has been announced on this matter.

Further motions from the CDU/CSU and the SPD concern cross-year-group and cross-class teaching. The Greens and The Left are also calling for measures to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the right-wing terrorist NSU group’s self-exposure, to safeguard records and to combat right-wing extremism.

The session begins at 10 am and can be followed via livestream.

Reporting in war

There are many aphorisms about the work of war correspondents. Wars are always wars of images; in war, truth is the first casualty; and, not least, Robert Capa’s famous line: ‘If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.’

Using the Gaza War as an example, a documentary explores the current working conditions of reporters operating under the extreme conditions of the modern world. Tonight at 7.30 pm, the Ost-Passage Theatre at Konradstraße 27 is screening the documentary “Inside Gaza” by French director Hélène Lam Trong. Produced in 2025, the film follows four journalists from the AFP news agency as they report from the Gaza Strip during the war. Personal footage, interviews and previously unpublished material document their day-to-day work and the dangers of reporting in a war zone.

The screening is part of an international series of events organised by “Reporters Without Borders” to mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. The organisation has announced 18 film screenings worldwide.

Following the film, the journalist and author Alena Jabarine, whose book *Der Letzte Himmel* was published in 2025, and Christopher Resch, press officer for the Middle East at “Reporters Without Borders”, will speak with the audience. Topics will include the situation facing media professionals, trust in the media in Germany, and reporting on Israel and Gaza. Admission is free; donations are welcome. Tickets are available exclusively at the box office.

Offices closed in the Leipzig district

Due to a staff meeting, all offices of the Leipzig District Administration and the Municipal Job Centre will be closed to visitors today. This applies to all administrative offices in Borna and Grimma, as well as to the Job Centres in Borna, Grimma, Markkleeberg and Wurzen. The vehicle registration offices and the driving licence office will also not be accepting in-person enquiries this Wednesday. The district administration’s cash desks will also remain closed.

There are no regular opening hours scheduled for the general district administration on this weekday anyway. In addition to in-person services, staff will not be available by telephone either. The affected buildings in Borna include, amongst others, the premises at Stauffenbergstraße 4, Brauhausstraße 8 and Leipziger Straße 67. In Grimma, the closure affects, amongst others, the premises at Karl-Marx-Straße 22, Bahnhofstraße 5, Heinrich-Zille-Straße 4 and Südstraße 80.

The district administration recommends that members of the public deal with in-person matters on another day and postpone any planned visits to the offices accordingly. From the next regular consultation day onwards, services will once again be available during the usual opening hours.

The early bird catches the St Martin’s goose

For most people in Leipzig, Radefeld is primarily known as a logistics hub for the Post and DHL. Anyone in the trade fair city who receives a card or a parcel can assume that it travelled along conveyor belts and passed through many hands in Radefeld. And sometimes… Well, sometimes this process takes a little longer than expected.

Could that be the reason why the people of Radefeld have, as a precaution, brought their St Martin’s Day parade forward by a week? Whatever the reason: according to ‘Nordsachsen Mobil’, the event will in any case lead to changes to bus services between 5.50 pm and 7.10 pm. During this period, buses on routes 190, 207 and 217 will not stop at the Friedhof and Festhalle stops. Depending on the route and connection, passengers can use the ‘Milanstraße’ and ‘Gartenstraße’ stops instead.

St Martin’s Day commemorates St Martin of Tours and is traditionally celebrated with lantern processions. In Radefeld, the festivities begin at 5 pm with a service at the Protestant church. This will be followed by a procession through the village. As part of the ‘Christmas in a Shoebox’ campaign, participants can also bring along packed shoeboxes, which will be distributed to children at Christmas. After the procession, there will be a cosy get-together with mulled wine and sausages.