This year’s fair welcomes a celebrity guest: Federal Minister of Economics and Technology Dr. Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg will be opening this year’s ITB Berlin. The opening ceremonies of ITB Berlin 2009 will take place on the eve of the first day of the fair, on 10 March, at 6 p.m. in Room 1 of the ICC Berlin. Klaus Wowereit, Governing Mayor of Berlin, and Raimund Hosch, Chief Executive Officer of Messe Berlin, will address the guests. Speeches by Taleb Rifai, Deputy Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert, President of the German Bundestag, will follow. Afterwards Klaus Laepple, President of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW), Dr Jurgen Ruttgers, Minister President of Northrhine-Westphalia and Dr. h.c. Fritz Pleitgen, Chairman of the Management Board of RUHR.2010 GmbH will discuss “the discovery of a new metropolis. The European Capital of Culture 2010 is coming. Will the tourists?“

The cultural supporting programme organised by the partner region of ITB Berlin (RUHR.2010) comprises a spectacular show entitled “One Day in the Ruhr metropolis“. On view will be a splendid, multi-faceted mosaic showing the Ruhr, with football stadia, concert houses, lakes, businesses, authentically depicted by the well-known stage and movie director Gil Mehmert (“Aus der Tiefe des Raumes“). A young ensemble featuring music students from the renowned Folkwang College, with street dancers, acrobats and dancers will present a colourful, lively and thoroughly distinctive view of the Ruhr metropolis. The stage design is just as unique as the show. In his own inimitable style, Essen’s successful comic illustrator JAMIRI will project images from the Ruhr metropolis on three walls. Specially written for the occasion, a snappy composition entitled the Ruhr Symphony will provide the ideal musical setting. A gala reception will follow, with culinary delights in the form of regional specialities from the European Capital of Culture.