Press releases
Photo: Federal Ministry of the Interior
World Cup preparations: Germany is on the home straight
Friday, January 27, 2006
The Federal Government’s 6th Progress Report on FIFA World Cup 2006 shows that the Federal Government’s preparations are right on schedule and that the host nation Germany is ready for the World Cup. Christoph Bergner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, together with Jürgen Rollmann, the Federal Government’s World Cup 2006 Co-ordinator, presented the report to the general public on 18 January.
The Federal Cabinet approved the report on 18 January. It was drawn up by the World Cup 2006 team, housed in the Federal Ministry of the Interior. All federal ministries, the Federal Chancellery, as well as the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government, and other partners of the Federal Government contributed to the report. The report also includes contributions by the World Cup Organising Committee, the DFB Cultural Foundation (DFB Kulturstiftung), and the Fan Project Coordination Centre (KOS) financed by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.
World Cup guarantees are being implemented completely and on time
"All in all, the Federal Government’s preparations are right on schedule", stressed Bergner. Bergner explained that Germany was ready for the World Cup. The government guarantees offered to FIFA are being implemented completely and on time. The Federal Foreign Office has recently drawn up the visa strategy and has informed all German Missions abroad by way of a circular decree. Of the 32 participating countries, eleven are subject to the visa requirement.
Also the voluntary programme (host strategy) is quite impressive: The national service and hospitality campaign started at the final draw in Leipzig. The marketing and image campaign "Germany - Land of Ideas" uses many and diverse measures in Germany and abroad to promote the World Cup host nation as a business location. The Football Globe as the symbol of the World Cup’s Artistic and Cultural Programme is currently in Stuttgart and has already been visited by more than 600,000 people.
Every piece of advice on safety is examined in a responsible manner
In connection with recent concerns on the subject of the World Cup, Bergner urged people to remain calm: "Everything will be treated seriously and examined carefully and dealt with before the start of the World Cup." Bergner drew a positive interim conclusion: "Even though a few details still need to be sorted out, Germany is ready for the World Cup!"
More information
Summary of the 6th progress report of the World Cup 2006 team on preparations for FIFA World Cup 2006 Summary of the Sixth Progress Report of the Federal Government in preperation for the 2006 FIFA World Cup (PDF-Fomat)
Link to print view
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