| Party time in FIFA World Cup Host Cities
The stage is set for what will, in all probability, be the biggest football party in history. That is because, for the first time ever at a FIFA World Cup™, there will be an official FAN FEST in each of the 12 host cities in Germany this summer.
From Hamburg in the north to Munich in the south, from Leipzig in the east to Cologne in the west, every city has come up with its own individual programme to keep visitors from around the world thoroughly entertained. Conservative estimates gauge that the Fan Fests will be attended by some seven to eight million people, a remarkable statistic given that just half that number will attend the 64 matches themselves.
Fifty-six of the matches are to be shown live on big screens at the FAN FEST venues, the exceptions being the eight final group games, which are played concurrently. All the live matches will be broadcast courtesy of feeds from ARD, ZDF and RTL and accompanied by a special entertainment and music programme, and entry is free at all locations, with fans from abroad catered for with temporary Organising Committee (OC) 'Fan embassies'.
From concerts to spa resorts
The biggest party is sure to be held in the capital, Berlin. Throughout the FIFA World Cup, the area of the Strasse des 17. Juni (17 June Street) from the Brandenburg Gate as far as the Victory Column will become a two kilometre-long party venue. A wide-ranging programme will keep guests from near and far entertained on 30 separate days - and not only when there is football on either.
Gelsenkirchen has planned a series of concerts with top artists, with Bryan Adams (7 July), Simple Minds (8 June) and Status Quo (28 June) already lined up to play at Schalke's former Gluckaufkampfbahn stadium. Nuremberg, meanwhile, is also offering fans more than just live match broadcasts, having devised a special entertainment and performance programme with a strong local flavour.
Sporting activities such as mini-football pitches, speed tests and shoot-out challenges will keep the sporty fans happy, while children are sure to enjoy the Kinderland. There will even be a spa centre offering massages, sun-loungers and cocktails to those female football fans looking to relax and wind down after the tension of the games themselves.
In Frankfurt, flanked by the city's skyline, with the Sachsenhausen bank on one side and the museums situated on the other, the 2006 FIFA World Cup Fan Fest on the Main river will feature a giant LED screen. A big stage (Main-Stage) will be situated between the Alte and Ignatz Bubis bridges and, at night, the entertainment along the banks will link up the river with the rest of the city. | 
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