Hamburg is preparing for hundreds of thousands of visitors for the central celebration of German Unity Day on October 3rd. The community festival opens today.
The city around the town hall and the Binnenalster wants to present itself as a diverse, sustainable, cosmopolitan and future-oriented metropolis. “We want to contribute these strengths in order to open new horizons together,” says the greeting from Federal Council President and Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD).
On Sunday afternoon most of the booths were set up around the Binnenalster. Many streets in the city center are closed for the two-day festival. Around 2,400 police officers are supposed to ensure security. According to a police spokesman, the situation in the city center was calm on Sunday.
Ceremony in the Elbphilharmonie
As the country chairing the Federal Council, Hamburg is hosting the central unity celebration this year. The highlight is the ceremony on Tuesday afternoon in the Elbphilharmonie with around 1,300 guests, including the entire head of state and the state prime ministers. Before that, there will be an ecumenical service in the main church of St. Michaelis.
Federal states present themselves at the citizens’ festival
Around the town hall, visitors can find out more about the constitutional bodies at the citizens’ festival. The Federal Government, Bundestag and Bundesrat as well as the Federal Constitutional Court will present themselves there. The police, fire brigade and the Bundeswehr are represented on the so-called blue light mile. Mönckebergstrasse becomes a state mile with information tents from the other 15 federal states, and Gerhart-Hauptmann-Platz becomes international with stands from more than 40 consulates and foreign associations.
State mile, blue light mile, water stage and much more: the overview map of the city provides orientation.
Large NDR stage on Jungfernstieg
Around the Inner Alster, Hamburg appears to be the heart of a metropolitan region. The colonnades offer games and fun for children and families. On the way from the Binnenalster towards Gänsemarkt there will be culinary delights, and on the square itself there will be a “Young Future Lab” about youth and future topics. On the “Night of Unity” before October 3rd, the community festival will last until midnight with a colorful program and lots of music on the large NDR stage on Jungfernstieg. In the evening, the traditional dinner of the constitutional bodies will also take place in the Maritime Museum with, among others, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
The ceremony and service will be broadcast live on TV
Host Tschentscher and the President of the Federal Constitutional Court, Stephan Harbarth, will give the keynote speeches in the “Elphi” on Tuesday. The Philharmonie Staatsorchester Hamburg under the direction of Kent Nagano and the Hamburg Ballet under the direction of John Neumeier as well as the pianist Joja Wendt and the Hiphop Academy Hamburg will provide the musical and dance accompaniment. The national anthem is sung by the Alsterspatzen, the children’s and youth choir of the Hamburg State Opera. Both the ceremony (ZDF) and the service on “Michel” (ARD) – at which Northern Church Bishop Kirsten Fehrs and Archbishop Stefan Heße give the sermons – will be broadcast live on television.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania takes over the presidency of the Federal Council
The central celebration of German Unity Day is always organized by the country chairing the Federal Council and is the final and highlight of the presidency. On October 3rd, Tschentscher will symbolically hand over the baton to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD), who will take over the office of Federal Council President on November 1st.
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NDR 90.3 | Hamburg Journal | Oct 1, 2023 | 3:00 p.m