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• Location Search

Where should the national holiday take place? If the representation rooms of an embassy are too small or the ambassador's residence is not located on a huge park-like property where the buffet landscape and some tent roofs can be set up to protect against rain showers or sunstroke, then a location must be rented.

• Suitable Locations

Berlin has many locations, but not all of them are really suitable for a national holiday. In fact, they are in short supply.  And renting space alone shouldn't be the deciding factor.

• Criteria

Assuming that you have made an enquiry in good time and can still choose from among the locations, several criteria must be checked. Is the hall, usually the ballroom of a hotel, representative enough? Is the venue centrally located enough?

• Accessibility

Is the location easily accessible or remote? What about parking spaces? How close are the public transport stops?

• Priority Situation

Does the location force drivers to let guests scurry out of the limo in front of the entrance? Or does a driveway in the entrance area invite the "Very Import Person" to get out with all dignity and let them enter the building? And that with dry feet too? Only a few locations have an optimal right of way. Important: Does the driver then have the option to park nearby to drive back on call?

• Entering the house

How far do guests have to walk from the entrance to the venue to the greeting line? A short direct route is of course better than having to follow several signs in a maze, as happens even in famous houses. Example: At Hotel Adlon, access to the reception rooms is a bit confusing. But the famous name of the hotel makes up for this.

• Welcome Desk

Is there enough space in the entrance area of the hall to register guests as efficiently as possible?

• Room Acoustics

After all, are the acoustics in the hall satisfactory in order to reproduce the ambassador's welcome speech in an understandable way or to accentuate musical interludes? If you pay too little attention to the acoustics in advance, greetings and performances will be lost in the murmurs and background noise of the guests.

• Security

And last but not least, an aspect that is becoming increasingly important: Does the location offer sufficient security? Can the garage become a trap? Emergency exits? Escape routes? Fire safety? Armoured windows?

• Loyalty to Hotels

The advantage of always working with the same hotel on national day is obvious. You can adjust to each other. The event is getting better from time to time.

• Other Locations

The selection for national holiday receptions is not limited to hotels. Some states present themselves at a state representative, provided that the embassy was able to establish a good relationship with the federal state.  Some use the atrium of Deutsche Bank on the corner of Unter den Linden/Charlottenstraße, others the prestigious Bärensaal in the Altes Stadthaus behind the Rotes Rathaus. Or the Wappensaal in the Rotes Rathaus. Some combine a concert in the Philharmonie with a reception beforehand.  

• Embassies and Residences

Happy is the embassy that can host a reception in its own building. The Austrian ambassador celebrates the bank holidays with guests in his mission building, which not only houses the embassy, consulate general, trade delegation and cultural forum, but also the residence. As the modern event hall is too small for the National Day reception, all the representation rooms on the ground floor and the large terrace are open - although this also means restrictions, as the welcoming speeches cannot be heard everywhere. Little Luxembourg, for example, has a hall on the ground floor in Klingelhöferstraße, which it can share with other embassies in the same building on request. The Nordic embassies (Scandinavia) also have shared function rooms. Morocco is happy to open up the spacious residence and the equally spacious park-like garden.