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“Welcome Home”: US Embassy Returns to Historic Site at Center of Berlin
On July 4, the US Embassy in Germany will officially return to its historic site on Pariser Platz in the very heart of Berlin, right next to the Brandenburg Gate and near the Bundestag. Chancellor Angela Merkel and former US President George H.W. Bush will be the guests of honor for the opening ceremony. In honor of his outstanding service to the transatlantic relationship former President Bush will be awarded the Henry A. Kissinger Prize on the night of July 3. The elder Bush was president during the time of German reunification, completed on October 3, 1990, and strongly supported it. The opening will be hosted by US Ambassador to Germany William R. Timken. German Ambassador to the US Klaus Scharioth, who also attended the groundbreaking ceremony in October 2004, will take part in the opening ceremony as well.
The ceremony on America’s Independence Day will include a tribute to Berlin Airlift veterans, as 2008 is the 60th anniversary of the start of the airlift. American and German color guard formations will present the colors to the veterans, and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin will perform American orchestral highlights. At the same time, the people of Berlin will commemorate both the opening of the US Embassy and Independence Day by celebrating the Amerikafest in front of the Brandenburg Gate. After musical performances by a variety of American musicians and other events, fireworks traditional of an American celebration of the Fourth of July will light up the night sky. Quite fittingly, the motto of the Amerikafest, which will continue on July 5, is “Welcome home.”
The new embassy building was desigend by the acclaimed American architects Moore Ruble Yudell of Santa Monica, CA. July 2, 2008 Links
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