Pressemitteilung
Berlin, 10th November 2019 One million people commemorate, celebrate and discuss the “30th Anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution – Fall of the Berlin Wall” over seven days at seven locations in the capital
The week-long city-wide festival celebrating the “30th Anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution – Fall of the Berlin Wall” is coming to an end on this beautiful autumn day. Over the course of the past week, one million people participated with great enthusiasm in the wide range of events inviting them to remember, celebrate and discuss the course of the Peaceful Revolution and the fall of the Wall – all in spite of the otherwise mostly rainy November weather.
At seven original sites of the Peaceful Revolution, including the Gethsemane Church, Alexanderplatz, Brandenburg Gate, Kurfürstendamm Boulevard, the former Stasi headquarters, Schlossplatz and the East Side Gallery, Berlin transformed into a large- scale open-air exhibition and event space that encouraged everyone to engage with the historical events of 1989/90. Berliners and visitors to the city flocked in large numbers to the numerous sites and events, all of which were well-attended at all times of the day and night. Among the many popular events were the talks with witnesses to the historical events at the East Side Gallery, concerts at Alexanderplatz, tours through the former Stasi headquarters, workshops on Kurfürstendamm Boulevard, film series in Gethsemane Church as well as open-air exhibitions and augmented reality projects at the sites themselves. Among the other visual highlights and crowd magnets were the large-scale 3D video projections set on up the facades of buildings, which used historical film footage to transport visitors back to the atmosphere of 1989/1990 every day after dark. Another highlight was the art installation “Visions in Motion”, which involved the projection of 30,000 expressions of hope and goodwill from 30,000 people onto ribbons floating over the Straße des 17. Juni
Kulturprojekte Berlin CEO Moritz van Dülmen, who was responsible for organising the celebrations on behalf of the Berlin Senate in 2019 after having done the same in 2009 and 2014, noted the following: “We’ve thoroughly enjoyed yet another highly successful festival, this time with over 1 million visitors celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall. We organised over one hundred events and were able to set a positive and constructive tone throughout. We were also able to display amazing images at the original sites, thus showcasing the history of the Peaceful Revolution and presenting many stories of those courageous people back in 1989 to a wide and diverse public, especially to younger audiences. After our other major anniversaries in 2009 and 2014, we are both delighted and surprised that the public’s interest in the history of the fall of the Berlin Wall continues to be so overwhelming”.
Pressemitteilung
The highpoint of the festival took place yesterday on November 9th at the Brandenburg Gate, where a stage show attended by 100,000 visitors and watched by millions of people on screens around the world marked the anniversary of the fall of the Wall, one of the most important events in the recent history of Berlin, Germany and Europe. Tens of thousands of visitors also made their way to Berlin’s six other festival sites to celebrate and remember that historic day thirty years ago. At Alexanderplatz, for example, visitors were treated to stunning 3D video projections.
A project carried out by Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH on behalf of the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe. In cooperation with Berlin’s Commissioner for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship, the Berlin Wall Foundation, the Robert Havemann Society and many other partners. Funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe with support from H&M and Berliner Sparkasse. Additional support from Wall GmbH and STRÖER, Stromnetz Berlin GmbH and Berliner Wasserbetriebe.
Media partners: ZDF and rbb
For additional information, please visit: www.mauerfall30.berlin www.kulturprojekte.berlin www.facebook.com/mauerfall30 www.instagram.com/mauerfall30 www.twitter.com/mauerfall30 #mauerfall30
Press contact Susanne Galle Tel. +49 (0)30 247 49-864 Mobile +49 (0)152 567 057 27 [email protected]