Berlin, May 20 :

Pele and Sir Bobby Charlton top a star-studded bill for a spectacular opening festival on June 7, 2006 at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, heralding the start of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Fan Fest.

For the first time in FIFA World Cup history, the 12 host cities are to stage official Fan Fests, which combine a centrally co-ordinated and designed support programme with a variety of diverse local events. Taken together, the Fan Fests are forecast to be the biggest football party of all time.

No previous tournament has featured a central location in every Host City where fans can follow every match live, while enjoying an extensive fan-oriented entertainment programme every day. The opening festival at the Fan Fest site in front of the Brandenburg Gate two days ahead of the Opening Match will start the ball rolling in style, as Berlin city authorities announced at a news conference on May 18.