A little more than 24 hours from now Obama will speak live in Berlin - towards the Brandenburg Gate, though not in front of it. Below you'll find a view from Germany - what to expect, what we already know and what's still speculation.
Before I start I just wanted to let you know that all the links below lead to German language sites. That's where I got most of the info I talk about below. The links are mostly for documentation so that you guys don't think I'm merely making things up as I go.
Here's what we know:
The Berlin tabloid BZ published a rough timetable which has Obama landing in Berlin early in the morning, meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel at 11am (5am EST), meeting Foreig Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier at 2pm (8am EST), after 4pm he's expected to visit the Holocaust memorial next to Brandenburg Gate and Tempelhof Airport. The speech itself is scheduled to start at 7pm (1pm EST).
What this means:
Like at every other stop during his trip abroad he's meeting the local govt. leader, in this case Angela Merkel. Their photo op will probably be viewed closely for any strains because of Merkel's objection to Obama speaking directly in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
There have been reports in the German media that Britain and France are a little miffed because Germany is getting more attention - the speech plus meeting the foreign minister. There's a difference between Germany on the one hand and France and Britain on the other though: Germany is currently governed by a grand coalition of the conservative Christian Democrats (Merkel's party) and the Social Democrats. While Foreign Minister Steinmeier is not the leader of the Social Democrats he's expected to be the party's nominee for Chancellor in next year's election. So, while a govt. minister he's also in a way an opposition leader. In a new interview with German weekly Die Zeit Steinmeier has criticized Merkel's interference with Obama speaking at Brandenburg Gate as "petty (kleinlich)". Interesting note: Steinmeier was also the equivalent to Chief of Staff to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder when Schröder decided to oppose the Iraq war.
Obama's visit of the Holocaust memorial is self explanatory. While it's not mentioned in the BZ he may also walk through the Brandenburg Gate, a photo op most Heads of State and Government do in presence of the Berlin mayor. His visit to Tempelhof Airport is also interesting (and another photo-op) as this was the airport used for the airlift during the blockade of West Berlin by the Soviet Union.
The Speech:
The speech is highly anticipated in Berlin though it's really hard to tell how many people will actually show up. I seriously doubt the 1 million number reported everywhere. That number came from reports that Berlin authorities were expecting anywhere between 10,000 and 1 million people to attend. The US press just went ahead and used the highest estimate. The city (and state - it's one of three city states in Germany) of Berlin has a population 3.4m, the metro close to 5m. It's a weekday, at the same time a lot of folks have left the city for their holiday and the speech is shortly after rush hour (made worse by cordening off the area for the speech). Personnaly, I think any six figure number is good. Half a million would be tremendous, a million would be absolutely mind blowing (which is why I doubt it).
The speech will be shown by several German tv stations in prime time, though it all depends on whether he actually starts it on time. German broadcasters are also planning a wide array of special coverage.
It's yet unclear how the speech will be translated. Either by subtitles on the video screens or else Obama would have to stop every couple minutes for the translator. I'm betting on the first. The speech is expected to last 45 minutes.
The cost of the event will be carried by the Obama campaign and the state of Berlin. The campaign pays for the setup estimated at €200,000 (about $315k), the state pays for security (with 700 police officers on duty) estimated at €250,000 (about $390k). So, that expected photo-op with Obama will cost mayor Klaus Wowereit (Germany's first openly gay mayor) some. Not yet clear who will introduce Obama. My guess: Wowereit.
The Berlin tabloid BZ also published the following graphic of the setup for Obama's speech:
The backdrop of the speech itself is the Siegessäule, though Obama will be speaking towards the Brandenburg Gate. In between are video screens and food and drink stands. Judging by the graphic above, the Obama campaign is expecting to at least fill the area right in front of the Siegessäule which is marked in read as the "security zone". The area beyond that seems to be for the overflow crowd. The roads around the Siegessäule are closed off all day today and tomorrow.
More links:
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this link to a Hamburg tabloid has video embedded showing the preparations, interviews with people on the street and with Democrats Abroad handing out fliers.
- a little trivia:
Siegessäule is also the name of Berlin's local gay mag!
As for myself: I'll watch the speech on TV tomorrow like most of you. It's a six hour drive to Berlin on a good day and such a trip would be a little expensive with gas prices at about $9 a gallon. So, I'll be staying at home with my partner and celebrate our 5 year anniversary instead. Also, I already had a chance to see Obama at a town hall in Carson City, Nevada in January. With just 1,000 people in a gym I got closer than I could ever get tomorrow.
UPDATE:
Thanks for putting this on the rec list! I appreciate it! Also, check out my blog, My Silver State - Nevada's progressive community blog (I was an exchange student in Nevada in the 90s), and the Nevada Bloggers for Jill Derby and Dina Titus ActBlue page and chip in a buck or two if you can! Thanks again!
UPDATE 2:
a few new developments, though it's mostly speculation.
The German press is having a field day with Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit (they have a love hate relationship with him). He's returning from his holiday just to meet Obama and apparently Obama's campaign left him hanging for a while, looks like there'll be no big photo-op with the mayor at Brandenburg Gate and Obama won't come to city hall either (where Heads of State and Government sign the official guest book). So Obama will bring the guest book to the hotel Obama's staying in.
It also seems to be entirely speculative what exactly Obama might visit. Thus far mentioned as possibilities: the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust memorial, Tempelhof airport, Checkpoint Charlie. No one really knows and the Obama campaign is currently not providing public schedules either.
Also some crazy dude drove into the security zone today and spilled red paint out of his window. The link to the story is German but there are several pictures attached to the story. Apparently, he's been admitted to a psychiatric ward.
And in case you're not aware yet of Der Spiegel's English language site check it out. They also have several stories on Obama's visit to Berlin in English.