Germany celebrates the 25th anniversary of fall of the Berlin Wall
Merkel speaks of human courage that brought down symbol of cold war
German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel led celebrations yesterday marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, calling it an example of the human yearning for freedom and honouring those who helped bring down the barrier that for 28 years symbolised the cold war.
The nation marked the historic event by throwing a huge street party at the famous Brandenburg Gate where more than a million people were expected to see rock stars and anti-communist dissidents take to the stage amid fireworks displays to recall the peaceful breach of the despised concrete barrier.
"The fall of the wall has shown us that dreams can come true," Merkel said at the main memorial site on Bernauer Strasse. "Nothing has to stay the way it is, however big the hurdles are."
Watch: Thousands of balloons rise to sky to fete Berlin Wall fall
The ugly scar the wall once cut through Berlin has been marked by an art installation, a string of almost 7,000 illuminated white balloons tethered along a 15km stretch of its former 155km path.
To symbolise the tumultuous day the barrier first cracked open on November 9, 1989, the balloons were due to float into the sky at dusk to the stirring strains of Beethoven's Ode to Joy, the anthem of the European Union.