Chancellor Scholz speaks at the ceremony on October 9

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to attend the 35th anniversary of the peaceful revolution in Leipzig on October 9. The SPD politician will give the traditional speech on democracy at the ceremony in the Gewandhaus, the organizers announced. Former GDR civil rights activist Marianne Birthler is scheduled to speak at the ceremony.

The light festival in the evening will be organized by more than 20 teams of artists from Germany and abroad. Music, performances and projections are planned along the inner city ring road. Some of Leipzig's twin cities will be taking part with their own projects. At the end, a giant 89 candles will be laid on Augustusplatz.

The city is commemorating October 9, 1989, when more than 70,000 people protested against the SED regime on Leipzig's inner city ring road. The great Monday demonstration is considered a decisive precondition for the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9.