Battling a budget crisis and an unemployment rate of around 20 percent, Berlin is determined to nevertheless put on a decent show for the thousands of German and foreign fans without tickets for World Cup matches.

In addition to the party in the Tiergarten and at the Brandenburg Gate, a huge stage has been erected in front of the Reichstag and the famous globe-shaped lump on the city's television tower has been turned into a giant football.

The other 11 German cities where matches are being played will also host their own parties, laying on giant screens, artificial beaches with cocktail bars, massage tents for tired fans and test-your-speed goal-shooting alleys.

While many Germans gear up for the event, which begins on June 9, not everyone has been moved.

Some have criticised the government for having come too close to private interests in allowing German sportswear and soccer boot maker Adidas to erect a huge stadium on a square in front of the seat of parliament.

"The state has a duty to keep this public space public," said Klaus Staeck, the president of the Berlin Arts Academy, recently, dubbing the stadium the "cheapest profanity."

SECURITY FEARS

Talk of terrorist attacks has also loomed over open-air events, revived after a magazine cited a leaked Crime Office report which suggested that at least 21 matches, including ones involving the U.S., were at a theoretically high risk of attack.

Berlin's officials say that with a secure fence encircling the Brandenburg gate party area, they have taken the necessary steps to ensure that the open-air event in the middle of the city is as safe as the stadium.

"All the security measures have been taken," Mueller said. "It will be similar to the security measures at the stadiums but obviously there is no need for tickets."

Those measures should also keep out other troublemakers, officials say, after another threat raised its head in recent weeks -- that the World Cup could become a target for right-wing extremists intent on targeting foreign fans.

There are fears that demonstrations organised via internet forums and aimed at open-air events could spring up during the tournament, when police are most stretched.

"During the World Cup, the police are not in the position of being able to ensure the security of such events," Konrad Freiberg, head of the police force union, told Spiegel magazine.