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The spectacular athletics event berlin 2009™ will be broadcasted in over 190 countries

The cult band “a-ha” presents the official World Championships’ song / BOC presents four more National Supplier

Press conference presenting the broadcasting concept of the World Championships
©City-Press

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Exactly one month before the start of the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics berlin 2009™, the television stations ARD and ZDF presented their concept for the television broadcast of the world’s largest sports event of the year in Berlin: The TV images from Berlin will be broadcasted in more than 190 countries around the world. The Norwegian cult band “a-ha” provides the official World Championships’ song, the current hit “Foot of the Mountain”. The World Championships’ Organising Committee also presented four more business partners for berlin 2009™.

Klaus Wowereit, Governing Mayor of Berlin and President of the World Championships’ Organising Committee opened the press conference on the 37th floor of the Park Inn Hotels at Alexanderplatz with Berlin’s expectations for the World Championships in Athletics: “With the broadcasting of the TV images in more than 190 countries worldwide, Berlin will be receiving an enormous amount of attention this August. The people of Berlin, with their hospitality and enthusiasm, will send a signal around the world that the German capital is “the place to be”.

The Executive President of the World Championships’ Organising Committee and President of the German Athletics Association (DLV), Dr. Clemens Prokop, stated: “The preparations for the World Championships in Athletics which will start in four weeks are in full gear. We are on target in all areas of the organisation.”

Dr. Prokop presented the official World Championships’ song to the general public on Wednesday -- “Foot of the Mountain” by the Norwegian cult band “a-ha”: “The fact that such an popular band is enthusiastic about berlin 2009™ once again demonstrates the international significance of the World Championships in Athletics,” Prokop continued.

Dieter Gruschwitz, Head of the Central ZDF Sports Department and Chairman of BERTA presented the concept for and hours of the television broadcasting for the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics berlin 2009™: “We at ARD and ZDF will alternate daily to provide together about 55 hours of live broadcasting at prime viewing times. In addition, there will be numerous regular programmes, such as the morning and mid-day shows (Morgenmagazin and Mittagsmagazin), and the sports shows Sportschau and SPORTreportage.”

“The World Championships in Athletics will be broadcasted in most of the countries of the world, which means excellent advertising for athletics, for Berlin and for Germany,” Gruschwitz continued.

Walter Johannsen, Head of ARD and Deputy Chairman of BERTA, presented the technical aspects of the TV production in Berlin: “Together, ARD and ZDF as the host broadcaster BERTA will provide the signal in high-resolution HDTV for TV stations around the world. berlin 2009™ thus will be the first step toward the regular use of high-definition broadcasting, which will begin with the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010.”

Michael Mronz, Steering-Board-Member of the World Championships’ Organising Committee, presented four National Supplier of berlin 2009™, starting with the worldwide leading sports insurance company ARAG.

In addition to ARAG, which is located in Dusseldorf, the sports equipment manufacturer Benz, the Berlin beverage company Berliner Pilsner, and the worldwide soft drink company Coca-Cola will be supporting the World Championships’ Organising Committee as partners in the preparation, implementation and promotion of the world’s largest sports event in 2009.

In addition, one month before the start of the World Championships, the Organising Committee presented its wide-ranging promotional activities. berlin 2009™ will gain a prominent presence in the public sphere. Berlin will be dressed in numerous mega posters and special advertising spaces, flags and posters will be hung throughout Berlin and Berlin-Brandenburg, and there will be TV ads and national radio commercials. “Together with the people of Berlin, we are delighted to be creating a fabulous World Championships’ atmosphere for Germany and for the capital,” Michael Mronz stated.

At the main train station, Hauptbahnhof, travellers can now get in the mood for the World Championships with a giant advertisement by the National Partner Vattenfall. Starting in early August at the Kandelaber, at the Charlottenburg Gate, one of the largest and most prominent advertising spaces in the capital, a mega banner created by the IAAF Partner Toyota and the National Partner Deutsche Post will promote the World Championships.

The other National Partners of the Championships are activating their sponsorships and will also be starting their prominent advertising campaigns soon.

Demand for tickets is also continuing to grow. For the events on Saturday, August 22, for instance, there are only 2,700 single tickets remaining. Michael Mronz expounded: “We are pleased with the clearly growing interest in the World Championships in Athletics and soon expect to be able to announce the first sold-out day of the event.”

Tickets for the World Championships in Athletics are available from the ticket hotline at +49 1805 1 2009 1 (0.14 euro/min. from German landlines, mobile phone rates may vary), online at www.berlin2009.org, at about 2,000 ticket agencies throughout Germany of which about 350 are in Berlin-Brandenburg, and at an additional 9,000 TUI travel agencies.

“Our main objective for the coming days and weeks will be to present the individual event days with their special athletic highlights more strongly,” continued Michael Mronz.

Additional information on the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics berlin 2009™ and on ticket sales is available online at www.berlin2009.org.

Official IAAF Partners