Tens of thousands celebrate fall of the Berlin Wall 35 years ago with concerts and art installations

BERLIN — Tens of thousands of people celebrated the fall of the Berlin Wall 35 years ago in Germany's capital on Saturday with open-air concerts, art installations and official events commemorating one of the country's most historic days on Nov. 9, 1989. For the anniversary celebrations on Saturday, event organizers created a temporary wall of 5,000 posters designed by children and adults under the motto “We uphold freedom,” which attracted a steady flow of visitors, including many foreign tourists. The posters combine the demands of East German protesters against the communist authorities in autumn 1989, such as freedom of expression, freedom of the press and freedom to travel, with current day wishes and were created as part of workshops in schools, church parishes, local art groups and cultural projects. “Uphold freedom, because without freedom everything else is nothing,” Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner said at an official anniversary event with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Berlin Wall Memorial.