Jul 8, 2006, 16:22 GMT
Berlin - Several state visitors have announced their intention to be in Berlin on Sunday when the city will host the final of the 2006 World Cup.
Amongst the dignitaries who have said they will be in the stadium to watch France take on Italy in the final are French President Jacques Chirac as well as his Italian counterpart Giorgio Napolitano.
Also expected to be in the stadium are United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annan and South African President Thabo Mbeki, whose country will be hosting the event in 2010.
The president of the football's governing body FIFA Joseph Blatter said on Saturday in Berlin that the tournament has been a 'huge success'.
German President Horst Koehler has invited many of the politicians to a reception ahead of the final. Expected to attend are not only Blatter and the others who will be at the final, but also Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel and Prince Albert of Monaco.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schaeuble and the president of the local organizing committee Franz Beckenbauer will also be present.
Even though hosts Germany aren't playing in the final, hundreds of thousands of fans are expected to take to the streets to bid the national team farewell at the fan mile at the Brandenburg Gate Sunday.
There will also be a brief 11-minute closing ceremony prior to the final where Colombian pop singer Shakira will perform her smash hit 'Hips Don't lie' and veteran group Il Divo will sing the official World Cup anthem 'The Time of Our Lives'.
Around 400 actors will be on hand masquerading as a wild horde of fans to help increase the atmosphere in the stadium. The performance will be choreographed by Doug Jack, the man responsible for the closing ceremony at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin earlier this year.
Apart from Shakira, there will also be a big-name appearance at half-time when Spanish tenor Placido Domingo takes to the stage to perform 'Willkommen bei uns', a song written by his son Placido Domingo jr.
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