Germany to commemorate Berlin Wall anniversary with 10-mile LED 'balloon' installation

To mark the 25^th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall, LED-lit balloons will line the wall’s former span, between Oberbaumbrücke and Bornholm Road, The Creators Project reports.

The balloons will be up for two days and two nights, starting November 7.

The project, named Lichtgrenze (or Border of Light), makes for a colossal art installation that will span 10 miles, dividing Berlin back to East and West. There will be 8,000 LED light-filled balloons, each 11 feet high and with 24-inch-diameter orbs, lining the path.

Researchers at the University of Hannover were asked to help design the balloons to be biodegradable. The material will decompose by natural environment factors such as sunlight, oxygen, and bacteria.

The idea for the installation was conceived by light artist and designer Christopher Bauder and his brother, filmmaker Marc Bauder.

Along key locations of the trail will be 30-foot-tall video screens that will play historical footage of the Wall, which Marc Bauder plans to use to juxtapose divided Berlin with the city today.

On the last day, November 9, at 7 pm—the anniversary of the fall of the Wall—patrons can attach personal notes to the balloons and then discconect them, allowing the helium-filled orbs to float into the Berlin night sky. LEDs integrated into the stands, powered by 60,000 batteries, will illuminate the orbs as they take off.

Stay tuned for more updates of the event at The Creators Project.

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