Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 16, 2002
Germany Picks 12 Cities to Hold 2006 World Cup
Pledging to offer high technology and first-class service, Germany chose 12 cities on Monday to be the venues of the soccer games of the World Cup in 2006.
Pledging to offer high technology and first-class service, Germany chose 12 cities on Monday to be the venues of the soccer games of the World Cup in 2006.
The games will be played in Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Hannover, Kaiserslautern, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart, the World Cup OrganizingCommittee announced.
The International Media Center will be located in the southern city of Munich, considered as Germany's football capital.
Berlin is expected to host the final, while Munich will land the opening game. A 66,000-seat stadium will be built there.
Organizers say work to build and upgrade stadiums is expected to cost about 1.5 billion dollars
German Interior Minister Otto Schily promised that the country would use "this fantastic opportunity" to show guests from all over the world Germany's new "open-minded, broad-minded, cheerful and soccer-enthusiastic" face. Germany last staged the World Cup in 1974, winning one of its three championships.