25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall - live from the celebrations in Berlin

Few events in modern times have had such a major impact on Europe as the day when the Berlin Wall fell. Tourism, travel and trade all felt big repercussions when a previously rather inaccessible part of Europe was opened up to the outside world. This past weekend was 25 years since the wall came down and we were on location in Berlin to watch the festivities.

The Berlin Wall was erected in June 1961 at the initiative of the East German government to divide the Soviet zone of Berlin from the British, American and French zones controlled by Western powers. The wall was 160 km long and stretched across the centre of Berlin, cutting off all of the infrastructure that previously existed, including roads, train lines and subway lines. On November 9th 1989, the wall opened, in truth, because of a simple mistake by the East German politician Günter Schabowski. During a chaotic press conference, he happened to answer a journalist's question by stating that the wall would be opened immediately. The actual plan was for travel restrictions for East German citizens to be eased gradually. A few hours later there was no going back. Over the weekend 7-9 November 2014, Berlin recognised the 25th anniversary in a big way. Along the wall's old location, white luminous balloons were placed at approximately one metre intervals. In total there were 8,000 balloons stretching 15 km through central Berlin. It was a powerful experience to walk alongside the glowing balloons in what is now mostly unremarkable residential areas, with apartment complexes, roads and shopping centres, and realise that crossing this street 25 years earlier would not have been possible. Rarely has it been so visually clear how at one time the city was so divided. Most evidence is now gone, the only indication of what was once there is an inscription on the gate along the wall's route. It also became very apparent how many famous sites and monuments were directly affected by the wall's placement. Sites like the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag building, and Potsdamer Platz. In several places there were also big screens showing archive material from the years of the wall, as well as interviews from people who were there at that time. The atmosphere among the large number of Berliners who erected the wall and made it to Berlin Mitte for the celebrations was somewhat subdued. This was a time for reflection. On Sunday evening, November 9, at 7:00pm, about the time when the historic press conference was held 25 years earlier, the balloons were released into the air.