As the kick off to the FIFA World Cup 2006 draws closer, the 12 host cities are putting the final touches to their preparations to hosting the largest sporting event in the world. Some of the cities are used to large scale events and influxes of tourists whilst others are new to such attention. But Germany has put a large scale of resource and six years of planning into hosting the event and the host cities are well prepared for the first whistle of the World Cup.

Germany is well placed to host a World Cup. With several large cities and strong regional infrastructure, Germany is well placed to show the anticipated 3-4 million visiting fans a good time. Frankfurt is typical of the attention to infrastructure and detail that has gone in to the planning and execution of the event. Germanys financial centre is one city that has long had the infrastructure capable of holding large scale events, but there are none larger than the World Cup and even a city which is established on a world scale will be tested to the fullest as the festival of football marches into town.

Frankfurt retains a cosmopolitan and international feel. With the financial centre attracting visitors and residents from all around the world, Frankfurt is perhaps most naturally placed to cope with its share of visiting fans. The addition of the new Waldstadion, a 50,000 seat arena built specifically for the World Cup furthers the facilities on offer in Frankfurt this summer. Frankfurt is used to dealing with tourists and the business community and has the facilities and attractions expected of a major German city. A modern metropolis of skyscrapers and bank HQs, Frankfurt has over 400 hotels to cope with the influx of visitors and additional camp and caravan sites are available outside the city. Despite facilities, Frankfurt will be stretched for accommodation this June and visitors will need to check major hotel resellers and the official Frankfurt city website ( http://www.frankfurt.de ) for up to date information and availability.

Travelling to and from Frankfurt is simple and efficient. The city is well served by an international airport offering domestic flights to the other host cities as well as continental and transcontinental flights. Frankfurt is the most central of German cities and is an ideal base to follow your countrys fortunes. A central hub on the autobahn network, Frankfurt is ideal for traversing Germany by road as all of the major car hire firms in the city either at the airport or ain the city centre.