KIEL WEEK, the world's largest sailing sport event, is also the biggest summer celebration in Northern Germany. This mega-event attracts about 3 million visitors from 70 nations to Kiel Bay once in every year. This year as well, from 16 to 24 June, over 300 journalists from a wide variety of media will be reporting on this event. And the importance of the new media - and of the Internet in particular - is on the increase.

The new project "EUROPE - GUEST AT KIEL WEEK" has caught onto this development and will be integrating the new media in its programming.

On Holstenplatz, Europe will present itself to the visitors in a new form, direct and live. Despite all the differences in language and culture, European countries have more in common than it might appear at first glance. Information and "happening" stands sponsored by various institutions, organizations, tourism associations and cultural institutions are there to demonstrate this and to arouse our curiosity about our neighbours, their cultures and their ways of life.

Artisans from the various countries will have their unique treasures on offer and many demonstrate their mastery of handicraft. International artists will fill the European Stage with music, dancing, shows and folklore - a colourful and exciting programme of entertainment. The "European Quiz" and "European Discussion" will mean having a lot of fun and a learning a lot as well.

Besides the introduction of the Euro, expansion of the EU at its eastern border is a major theme that will be decisive for the future of Europe. It is therefore only natural that Europe's neighbouring countries will be present along with member EU countries to emphasize this notion of expansion and help strike a friendly note with our neighbours to the east. This events and information centre at Holstenplatz will help break down any prejudices by virtue of its very structure and it will offer new experiences and impression of a "living Europe".

In addition to the visitors in Kiel, new target groups will be involved by transmission of events and stage programmes on the Internet. Downloading the various programmes mean individual users can retain a lasting impression. On the basis of initial experience with this new media, a total of 5 million website hits can be expected. In addition to TV and the print media, the television magazine TV Today will be featuring the live transmission in a special Internet section. The "Open Channel" will be involved in reporting right from the start. And the City of Kiel Press Office with its close contacts to all the media will insure plentiful and intensive reporting.

Thus the project "EUROPE-GUEST AT KIEL WEEK" will be a central focus of the entire event that is guaranteed to become a rousing success.

The international significance of "KIEL WEEK" has brought the host city of Kiel into close contact with other cities, and some of these contacts have grown into closer friendships in the form of city partnerships. The list of cities represented reflects cultural variety and economic importance.

These "Partner Cities" will be presented together with Kiel on the Internet and all the cities will want to make the most of what the new media has to offer. That way, various layers of the population will be reached and involved interactively in the event. This new way of involving the public makes it possible, for instance, to participate directly in interesting or controversial on-stage discussions via Internet¾to make live contributions to the discussion. Broadcasting colourful on-stage programmes will give Internet users something of the fascinating atmosphere of the live event.

And that's not all. Short films and videos made by individual participants can be called up directly on the Internet. For instance, statistical information can be optically presented and reports on or descriptions of the individual countries can be conveyed in the fascinating language of images, helping viewers to grasp ways of life that are strange to them.