From 9 June to 9 July 2006 Germany will be in the international limelight as to host FIFA World Cup™.

Under the slogan "A time to make friends" the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ will be a very special event for the three million visitors and, in particular, for the expected one million guests from the participating countries.

"We expect around 380,000 additional overnight stays in Hamburg due to the World Cup," says Marc Nölle, head of the Hamburg Convention & Event Bureau.

In addition to infusing many industries and sectors in Germany with new vitality, the 2006 World Cup will also generate great business opportunities for the meeting, incentive, congress and event business (MICE).

"For 2006 we expect overnight figures to go up 1.7%. We have already seen an increase in meeting and convention figures since last year similar to the increase Sydney, Japan and Korea experienced with major sports events like the Olympic Games and the World Cup. We will do our best to make this a lasting trend in Germany," says Lutz P. Vogt, director of the German Convention Bureau e.V. (GCB).

The GCB markets Germany both nationally and internationally as a destination for conventions, meetings, events and incentives and is the place to contact for anybody planning an event in Germany. The Germany stand - A100 – A180 at IMEX – incorporating Meetings made in Germany, the central marketing organisation will inform visitors about products and programmes surrounding the 2006 FIFA World Cup™.

IMEX will take place from 19 to 21 April 2005 in hall 8 of Frankfurt Fair. In addition, Internet users will find many new sections on the FIFA World Cup™ and the Incentive of the Month with World Cup programmes on the website www.germany-meetings.com.

Investments and infrastructural expansion

Numerous investments triggered by the World Cup clearly show the event's economic impact on Germany. Many host cities are building new stadiums and modernising old ones such as the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium in Stuttgart or the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, where the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ finals will take place.

And infrastructural expansion is also underway. In Munich, for example four hotel projects are slated for completion by the World Cup: IBIS Hotel, INNSIDE Hotel, the three-star Suite, and the Courtyard by Marriott.

And in Frankfurt alone nine new hotels plan to open by summer 2006. Last January saw the opening of the meeting hotel HolidayInn Nuremberg City Centre in Nuremberg, and the Maxi Sporthotel in Stuttgart's VfB Event Centre at the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium will also be ready when the World Cup kicks off.

Host city events, packages and offerings

In addition to an excellent infrastructure and a state-of-the-art stadium many cities offer visitors an exciting social programme to tie in with the World Cup. Among other things, visitors can follow match broadcasts live on a big screen (public and VIP viewing) outside the stadium.

These events will be flanked by colourful street parties with live concerts of world-famous bands, singers and musicians. In many public places in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Hamburg, among others, spectators will be able to share the fun and excitement.

The biggest World Cup party outside a stadium will be at Heiligengeistfeld in Hamburg. All 64 matches will be broadcast on a huge video screen.

With special FIFA World Cup Welcome Cards visitors can explore host cities like Berlin effortlessly and at a low price by public transport. Additionally, they will be granted reductions on various tourist and cultural attractions such as city tours, museums, clubs, restaurants, gyms and spas.

Agencies such as Liberty International Reisen GmbH or Dr. Kater Marketing GmbH have compield special World Cup programmes with excursions, hotel rooms and football parties for meeting, event and incentive planners.

Customers can add to the "basic programme“ for Berlin and Dortmund whatever they desire. Additionally, as the main organiser of the annual UEFA Champions League finals Liberty International has booked a total of 20,000 hotel rooms in all twelve host cities for the 2006 World Cup.

To mark this major sports event, many cities will be staging additional events for soccer fans. For example, the Hanseatic League City of Bremen will offer an unusual football experience with the RoboCup-World Cup 2006.

Co inciding with the Fifa World Cup™ - from 13 to 17 June 2006 - Bremen Fair Centre will stage the world championships in robot football. This special world cup will take place for the tenth time with hundreds of teams from 50 countries.

Aiming to make official FIFA rulings to allow robots to compete against human beings by the 2050 World Cup, the event becomes more exciting every year.

Nuremberg also has many football-related offerings up its sleeve. Visitors can test their stamina and playing technique in a one-day football camp with a professional coach – including food - or during a friendly match against a Nuremberg team.

During the World Cup most big German cities will offer sports and cultural events. For example, Berlin will present an exhibition on how sports were abused through the ages for political ideologies in the Nazi-built Langemarck Hall, and the Film Museum will put on a special exhibition named "Goal! Football and Television".

Prior to the opening match the Munich Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra will play at he Olympic Stadium to present itself as an innovative cultural capital.

Leipzig will present its Football Worlds exhibition project. From 3 to 5 June 2006 Frankfurt's skyline will turn into a Skyarena: On a large screen rising from the river Main fans will be able to enjoy their favourite players, lights, art and music.

World Cup-offerings of smaller cities