25th anniversary of German Unity
To mark the 25th anniversary of German Unity, Frankfurt am Main has organized a large city festival with more than 300 events and plenty of celebrities.
3 October 2015 marks the 25th anniversary of German reunification. As the rotating post of Bundesrat President is currently held by the governor of Hesse, Volker Bouffier, Hesse will be the host of this year’s festival of reunification. The federal state’s largest city, Frankfurt am Main, invites the public to a big city festival with more than 300 events. Over a million visitors are expected from 2 to 4 October.
In the square before St. Paul’s Church “annual rings” will wind around the trees. Texts and images will commemorate interesting events since reunification. In the Liebfrauenberg, institutions and initiatives will afford insight into their work, including the Federal Foundation for Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship, the Stasi Documents Authority and the Federal Agency for Civic Education. At the “Forum Plenary Hall” the Bundestag will offer an interactive role-playing game about the work of the parliament, and in a video exhibition entitled Time Travel 1914-2014 the federal government show original film sequences from one hundred years of German history.
Bridges of light
The heart of the festival is “Germany under One Roof” spread out on both banks of the River Main. The offerings in the tents of the federal states range from tourist attractions and culinary specialties to music. After nightfall a light and sound production focuses on the theme of “Overcoming Borders”. Between the Iron Footbridge and the Holbein Footbridge 25 symbolic bridges will be formed by light.
Many prominent politicians are expected in Frankfurt on the 3rd of October: Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has announced she will be present, and the EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Federal President Joachim Gauck will also be there. Michail Gorbatschov, one of the fathers of German reunification, will travel to Frankfurt, and ex-Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl is on the guest list. At ten o’clock in the Kaiserdom there will be a festival worship service, which will be broadcast live on television. Also on television will be the ceremonial act at the Old Opera House with 1,600 invited guests. Afterwards Bundesrat President Bouffier will pass on his office to Stanislaw Tillich, the governor of the Free State of Saxony. Next year his state will host the celebrations.