Frankfurt loves to party, and there are plenty of occasions to do so throughout the year. The city’s calendar of events comprises over 100 street festivals, cultural celebrations, markets, folk fairs and other types of open-air events.
Next year, for example, Frankfurt will once again be at the focus of a very special sporting event, with the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011TM coming to the Main metropolis. As a prelude to the tournament, Frankfurt am Main will be welcoming teams and fans with a spectacular ceremony taking place on the eve before the opening match. All games of the Women’s World Cup, which runs from 26th June to 17th July 2011, will be broadcast live at Frankfurt’s "football gardens", situated directly on the southern banks of the River Main between Untermainbrücke and Holbeinsteg, two bridges spanning Frankfurt’s majestic waterway. Fans may expect a colourful programme consisting of football, live music, stage shows and international cuisine, set scenically in front of the imposing Frankfurt skyline.
Culture enthusiasts will also find 2011 to their liking. Aside from its colourful theatre, playhouse and opera scene, which includes the renowned Oper Frankfurt and the time-honoured Alte Oper, Frankfurt also boasts a fantastic museum landscape. Several of its exhibition venues are at present undergoing renovation. The Goethe Museum and the Bible Museum will be reopening in January, while the Film Museum will be back to "business as usual" in early summer, offering visitors – amongst other things – a fully restructured permanent exhibition. Elsewhere, an exhibition focusing on the "INTERNATIONAL HIGHRISE AWARD" will continue to be on show at the newly renovated German Architecture Museum until 16th January 2011.
Then, come autumn, Frankfurt will celebrate the reopening of the world-famous Städel Museum, featuring the "New Städel", the museum’s brand-new underground extension. Here, the cultural goings-on will kick off with an exhibition highlighting the work of a one-time professor of the Städel Art Institute: "Max Beckmann and America", on show from October 2011 until January 2012, will be concentrating primarily on the later works of this famous contemporary artist.
Meanwhile, from 10th February until 29th May 2011, SCHIRN KUNSTHALLE will be displaying a comprehensive exhibition concentrating solely on three-dimensional surrealist art. "Surreal Things. Sculptures and Objects from Dalí to Man Ray" will be putting the spotlight on a variety of word-famous artists, including Duchamp, Magritte, Dalí, Picasso, Miró and many more.
Even more art will be on presentation during Museum Night, to be held on 07th May 2011. Over 40 museums and a similar number of art galleries will be putting on display a superb night-time programme of culture and the arts. Aside from the exhibitions, Museum Night will also feature guided tours, music and dance events, readings, theatre performances, workshops, parties and international cuisine. Shuttle busses will be running until 2 a.m., taking some of the 40,000 visitors from venue to venue free of charge.
Then, on the last August weekend, Frankfurt will once again be celebrating its magnificent museum landscape. From 26th to 28th August 2011, the Museum Embankment Festival returns to the Main metropolis with a cultural celebration beyond compare. Featuring culture, cuisine, live music and stage shows from around the globe, this riverside spectacle – known to be one of Europe’s largest open-air festival – guarantees to be an unforgettable experience for visitors of all ages.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011TM won’t be the only major sporting event to be held in Frankfurt am Main next year. The region’s premier professional cycling race, "Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop", will be back in town on 01st May 2011. The successor of the famous "Around the Henninger Tower" race offers not only 14 different cycling competitions, but also a comprehensive fringe programme for cycling fans of all ages. Close on its heels will be the IRONMAN European Championships, scheduled to arrive in Frankfurt Rhine-Main on 24th July 2011. "The world’s most beautiful finish line," as Chris McCormack, the 2008 champion, called the Römerberg, will be expecting some 3,000 participants from around the world, spurred on all the way by the cheers of thousands of spectators.
Finally, if you too enjoy a bit of wintertime nostalgia, then a visit of Frankfurt’s traditional Christmas market is just the thing for you! The Frankfurt Christmas Market, which will be camped on the Römerberg from 23rd November to 22nd December 2011, ranks amongst Germany’s oldest and most beautiful Christmas markets. Come and take in the scent of baked apples and homemade gingerbread and take home with you some old-world memories that are guaranteed to stay with you for years to come.
For an overview of all large-scale events held in Frankfurt, pick up your free copy of "Frankfurt Events 2011", published and distributed by the Frankfurt Tourist+Congress Board.
