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Former US President Obama to pay Berlin another visit

The Local Germany
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Former US President Obama to pay Berlin another visit
Obama speaking at a US elections campaign event in Pennsylvania in November 2022. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/AP | Matt Rourke

Former US President Barack Obama is slated to speak in Berlin as part of a three-city European tour.

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The 61-year-old former US president will appear on May 3rd at the Mercedes Benz Arena, the last stop following appearances in Amsterdam on April 29th and Zurich on May 3rd.

The speech - which sees tickets going between €83 and €550 per seat - will centre on “leadership and how we navigate the future” in the face of turbulent political times.

Obama is no stranger to the German capital. During his 2008 election campaign, he gave a speech to nearly 200,000 people in front of Berlin's Victory Column (Siegessäule), and as president he was given permission to speak at the symbolic Brandenburg Gate in 2013.

This talk was also about openness and tolerance, which had triumphed, "right here in Berlin,” he said.

Obama visited Germany a total of six times during his eight years in office - more often than any of his predecessors. 

Post presidency, he also visited Germany in 2017 and 2019, in which he greeted “my friend Angela” - former German Chancellor Merkel - in Cologne.

In the visit he called for better climate protections and commented on the importance of “respectful” leadership. Many considered the speech to be a direct rebuke to his successor Donald Trump, which then-German government spokesperson Steffen Seifert denied.

READ ALSO: Obama meets with Merkel as part of Germany tour

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Berlin police did not comment on security precautions which would be put in place for the upcoming visit, but told local broadcaster rbb that a lower security level would be deployed, as the former president is no longer “in any official capacity”.

The capital has recently welcomed several prominent political figures, such as Charles III on his first visit as Britain’s King, and - more controversially - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu's visit saw over 2,500 police officers deployed.

Vocabulary

the visit - (der) Besuch

leadership - (die) Führung

openness - (die) Offenheit

security measures - (die) Sicherheitsmaßnahmen

We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

 

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