Berlin Cup Berlin, Germany - 14 untill 15 May 2010 (Ascension) (de)

The club Concordia Wilhelmsruh Hertha will be ready to welcome everyone on Thursday afternoon. In the evening all teamleaders are invited to the sport-restaurant in the clubhouses for an information meeting. Participants can meanwhile get to know eachother at the sport-park during the open-house youth style. The preliminary rounds will start immediately on Friday morning so that the evening activities can start well in time. A welcome ceremony is programmed on Friday at lunchtime at each sports park. There are of course many alternatives for sightseeing in Berlin and extra possibilities to visit the 'hotspots' will be prepared if you don't want to adventure your own. The remaining preliminaries will be played on Saturday morning followed by the classification matches and finals. The last evening of the Berlin Cup will be concluded with the prize-giving ceremony on the main pitch. To make sure everyone leaves Germany's capital city in good spirits a Saturday evening in the city provides something for all ages.

As well as participation at the tournament, Euro-Sportring also arranges the accommodation for the participants. Participants can usually choose between school accommodation, group accommodation (youth accommodation and bungalows) and hotels. The accommodation we offer has been selected with care and must comply to a number of conditions such as are they within easy reach of the sports park, do they provide value for money, are they suitalbe for sports groups, are they safe and are the management fliexible. For more information about the available accommodation please see the pdf pricelist which can be found on this website.

Berlin, with 3.5 million inhabitants, is the capital of Germany and, since recently, the government centre. The history of Berlin is inseparably tied to the Second World War and its aftermath. In the second half of the 20th Century, Berlin was dominated by the wall which cut it in half and divided East Berlin from West Berlin for almost thirty years. Since the fall of the wall in 1989, Berlin is busily becoming one of the hippest cities in Europe. For historical things to see, such as the Reichstag and Brandenburger Tor, memorials of a recent past, such the Gedächtniskirche and Checkpoint Charlie, and the new Berlin, such as the Holocaust monument and the Sony Centre, Berlin is ‘the place to be!’

You can also shop to your heart’s content in Berlin. Start at Kurfürstendamm, where all the famous stores have a branch, but where you can also find luxurious small boutiques. On the corner of Tauentzienstrasse, there is KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens), the largest store in Europe. Niketown is also on Tauentzienstrasse: 3500 m2 full of the latest sport fashion. There are many places to go out to in Berlin: in the summer there are numerous terraces around Kurfürstendamm and Unter den Linden. Other well-known places for going out are the areas of Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg in the east of the city.

A few places worth seeing:

* Kurfürstendamm - Before reunification, this was the centre of West Berlin. Berliners call it the ‘Kudamm’. Here you will find many shops, restaurants and galleries.

* Gedächtniskirche - At the end of Kudamm, there is the ruin of Kaiser Wilhelm I-Gedächtniskirche. The church was built at the end of the 19th Century in remembrance of Keizer Wilhelm I and it was seriously damaged during the Second World War. Only the tower remains and this is badly damaged. The tower was left un-repaired as a warning of the consequences of war.

* Potzdammerplatz with the DaimlerChrysler Quartier – Before the Second World War, Potzdammerplatz was a busy entertainment district. Not much was left after the war and the wall was built diagonally over the square. Buildings rapidly went up after the fall of the wall: places to go out, restaurants, a enormous covered shopping centre, mega-cinemas and offices, such as the architecturally impressive Sony Centre.

* Checkpoint Charlie – Checkpoint Charlie was a checkpoint at the Berlin wall. The post was closed after the fall of the wall. Later, a copy of the watchhouse was built. The ‘Haus am Checkpoint Charlie’ is a museum with images and objects that tell about the history of the wall and of the many escape attempts from East to West.

* Brandenburger Tor – was built at the end of 18th Century and has since qualified as a symbol of Berlin. Close by is the Reichstag that was repaired after the war. Since 1999, the German parliament has assembled here.

* Fernsehturm – The 365-metre-high television tower on Alexanderplatz is a landmark in former East Berlin. The 207-metre-high rotating Tele-café offers a beautiful view over the city.

* Tiergarten – A large park in the centre of the city. An oasis of peace, except in the weekends in the summer when thousands of real Berliners come here and barbecue. More information: www.berlin.de

Berlin Olympia Stadium The Olympia Stadium in Berlin was the background of the final of the World Cup in 2006. The stadium was renovated from 2000 to 2004 especially for this. The number of seats was reduced to 75,000. The stadium was built by order of Adolf Hitler in the thirties for the Olympic Games that were held in Berlin in 1936. The stadium was renovated for the World Cup in 1974. It was also partially covered. The professional club Hertha BSC plays its home games at Olympia Stadium.