3,000 guests dine on runway of former Berlin airport

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3,000 guests ate, drank and danced at this 'Freedom dinner'

hosted on an empty runway of the former Tegel airport

LOCATION: Berlin, Germany

The tables were arranged in big letters and spelled out 'Berlin loves you'

The event is part of an advertising campaign

to boost tourism in Berlin

(SOUNDBITE) (German) FRANZISKA GIFFEY, CANDIDATE OF SPD FOR BERLIN MAYOR, SAYING:"Well, I can really feel Berlin here. Tonight we can see and feel the love of the Berliners for their old airport. But there is also a spirit of optimism and 'Berlin loves you' is a message to the world. It is about wanting to host people in our city again, to restart tourism, culture, gastronomy. And we want to support that. Politics must support that. Berlin is a metropolis and we want to host people from around the world."

(SOUNDBITE) (German) MARTIN ECKNIG, MESSE BERLIN MANAGEMENT, SAYING:"If you sit at the table you cannot see what the tables spell out. Only from the sky. It is 'Berlin loves you'. That is a very simple message which is understood all over the world. And with which we want to show the world that Berlin is here and open for business. And do come and visit us."