20 years on, Berlin celebrates the fall of the Wall

Nov 9, 2009, 6:52 GMT

Berlin - International leaders were congregating in Berlin Monday, 20 years to the day after the fall of the Berlin Wall augured the end of Europe's East-West divide.

On November 9, 1989, travel restrictions for East German citizens were unexpectedly lifted, prompting a rush of thousands of Berliners to the hated barrier, where they were allowed to cross in a night of jubilation.

In the months that followed, the Soviet-controlled bloc in Eastern Europe collapsed.

Leaders of the four World War II Allied powers - Britain, France, Russia and the US - were due to take part in the celebrations, led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel was due to begin the day at a remembrance service in the Gethsemane Church, which had been a centre of the resistance movement against the East German communist state (GDR) in the former East Berlin.

Later, the chancellor is to share a moment of reflection in the Chapel of Reconciliation, built at the site the so-called Death Strip, the forbidden area between the two layers of the Berlin Wall.

Merkel, who grew up in East Germany, will retrace her steps at the former Bornholmer Bridge checkpoint, where she was among the first throngs of joyous people who crossed to West Berlin in 1989.

The chancellor will be joined by key figures from the year, including former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, Poland's former opposition leader and president Lech Walesa, and civil rights activists.

The day's events will culminate at Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate, which for 28 years had stood out of bounds at the centre of the divided city.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Premier Gordon Brown, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will join Merkel for a ceremonial walk through the gate.

Other guests include the presidents of the European Commission and Parliament, Jose Manuel Barroso and Jerzy Buzek.

For the past several days, central Berlin has been divided again by a row of domino stones, 2.5 metres in height and decorated by artists and school pupils from Germany and around the world.

The blocks are set to topple, after a push from Walesa, symbolizing the sequence of events which began early 1989 in Poland and led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, marking the end of the Soviet bloc's rule in eastern Europe.

Celebrations will include musical performances led by renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim, as well as a song from rock star Jon Bon Jovi and a hymn by Berlin music producer Paul van Dyk.

The evening is set to end with a huge fireworks display, recalling the joyous scenes as people partied the night away on top of the breached Berlin Wall 20 years ago.