"Festival of Freedom": Celebrating 20 Years Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Posted by Emma Torry on November 09, 2009 at 03:19 PM
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. To celebrate, Berlin is hosting an open-air concert and party tonight.
Over 1,000 colourful 8ft dominoes, along the former route of the wall between Pariser Platz and the Brandenburg Gate, will be knocked over to mark this important anniversary, and to raise awareness of walls around the world that continue to exist.
The last domino will trigger a firework frenzy over the Brandenburg Gate.
Dignitaries expected to attend Berlin's "Festival of Freedom" include U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Brandenburg Gate by wit.
By Taking place in Cusco this week (24 June) is the festival of Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun. Inti Raymi pays homage to the Inca sun god, Inti, and marks the winter solstice.
Around 100,000 visitors flood into Cusco to mark the festival. To find out more about travelling to Cusco click here.
Bend it like big ears
Posted by Emma Torry on November 20, 2007 at 12:48 PM
300 trunks, 600 flapping ears and 132 legs on a football pitch… Yesterday the annual elephant festival took place in Surin, Thailand. More than 300 elephants and their handlers attended the event, the highlights of which included an 11-a-side football match and darts throwing competition.
Elephant fans can check out video footage of the animals’ football skills here.
Since logging was banned in Thailand in 1989 the country’s elephant handlers, or “mahouts”, have been forced into training their statuesque friends to perform tricks for tourists. The elephant festival is an important annual event for them both in terms of income and as a reunion / homecoming.
Other highlights on the elephant event calendar include:
February 2008
Elephant Polo Tournament, Sri Lanka
March 2008
Elephant Festival, Jaipur, India
Paripally Gajamela, Elephant Pagent, India
April 2008
- Elephant Races, Don Village, Vietnam
September 2008
- Ganesh Festival, Pune, India (ok, so it not elephants per se, but a celebration for the elephant-headed god)
