The Internationales Congress Centrum Berlin (ICC Berlin), located in the

Westend Westend may refer to: * Westend (Trevilians, Virginia), an historic house in Virginia listed on the NRHP * Westend (Berlin), a locality of Berlin in Germany * Westend (Frankfurt am Main), a borough of Frankfurt am Main in Germany * Westend, Espoo, ...

locality of the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

borough of

Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf () is the fourth borough of Berlin, formed in an administrative reform with effect from 1 January 2001, by merging the former boroughs of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf. Overview Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf covers the ...

, is one of the largest conference centres in Germany. It is used for conventions, theatrical productions and concerts. In April 2014, it was closed in order to remove

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

contamination, and remains closed In October 2021, it was temporarily reopened for the art project ''The Sun Machine Is Coming Down'' as part of the

Berliner Festspiele The Berliner Festspiele (German language, German for Berlin Festivals) in Berlin organise and stage a large number of independent festivals as well as exhibitions and individual events in the fields of music, theatre, performance, dance, literat ...

Overview

Construction of ICC Berlin began in 1975 and it opened in 1979 (three years after the opening of the Palace of the Republic), and its architects were Ursulina Schüler-Witte and

Ralf Schüler Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

. It is long, wide and tall. It is linked to the neighboring

Messe Berlin Messe Berlin (') are exhibition grounds in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf precinct of Berlin, Germany, at Masurenallee opposite the Haus des Rundfunks. Since 2011, they have officially been known as "Berlin ExpoCenter City" and operated by th ...

fairgrounds; often joining in trade shows and exhibitions. It was one of Europe's biggest conference centre, at a time when Berlin was one of the top congress cities in the world. It is serviced by

S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

station Berlin Messe Nord/ICC. By its own reckoning, ICC Berlin is a landmark of

post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

German architecture The architecture of Germany has a long, rich and diverse history. Every major European style from Roman to Postmodern is represented, including renowned examples of Carolingian, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Modern ...

and has served as an inspiration for similar facilities around the globe. In April 2014, the ICC was closed in order to remove

contamination. Its removal will cost much more than the originally planned €259 million.

In popular culture

The ICC features prominently in the 1980

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

''The Apple'', in which it appears as a futuristic concert venue. Many of the film's exterior and interior scenes were filmed in and around the building. The American rock band

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

played two concerts in the main hall at the ICC as part of their Europe tour in 1990. The concerts were on 19 and 20 October. The 2009 film '' The International'' was partly filmed in the interior of the ICC. The pedestrian tunnel was used as a set for popular dance track "

Around the World (La La La La La) "Around the World (La La La La La)" is the debut single of German-based international Eurodance group ATC (an abbreviation of A Touch of Class). The song is a cover of the Russian hit "Pesenka" by Ruki Vverh! and uses the song's melody with add ...

" by German

Eurodance Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of Hip-hop, rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use ...

group ATC in 1999. It appears in

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...

' 1987 film ''

Wings of Desire ''Wings of Desire'' (, ; ) is a 1987 romantic fantasy film written by Wim Wenders, Peter Handke and Richard Reitinger, and directed by Wenders. The film is about invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of its hu ...

''.

References

External links

*
ICC Berlin descriptions

Inside Europe's $1BN Abandoned Mega-Build
(YouTube video, 17 minutes long, with 5.5 million views) The B1M, 20 February 2025 {{Coord, 52, 30, 16, N, 13, 16, 50, E, type:landmark_region:DE-BE, display=title Convention centres in Germany Theatres in Berlin Concert halls in Germany High-tech architecture Buildings and structures in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Buildings and structures completed in 1979 Music in Berlin