Brandenburg Gate role in 2018 European Athletics Championships. It is also the usual finish line of the Berlin Marathon. A Soviet flag flew from a flagpole atop the gate from 1945 until 1957, when it was replaced by an East German flag. Since the reunification of Germany, the flag and the pole have been removed. During the 1953 riots in East Berlin the Soviet flag was torn off by West Germans. In 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviets hung large red banners across it to prevent him looking into East Berlin. In the 1980s, decrying the
City Gate (Valletta) there is no documentary evidence supporting this claim. During the French occupation of Malta in 1798–1800, the gate was known as "Porte Nationale". In accordance with Proclamation No. VI of 1814, which was issued by Governor Sir Thomas Maitland, the British coat of arms was installed at the gate in 1815. This coat of arms might have been the work of the sculptor Vincenzo Dimech. The gate was modified over time, and by the late 18th and early 19th centuries there were a number of features which had not been part of Dingli's original design. The gate was demolished in