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) criticism was directed towards the gate in subsequent decades, and there was public interest to replace the gate. The Italian architect Renzo Piano first made plans to redevelop the entrance of Valletta in 1988, but the project was shelved by 1992. In 2008, the government resumed contact with Piano to replace the gate. Piano's new plans were revealed on 27 June 2009, and City Gate was demolished between 2 and 5 May 2011, with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi attending the demolition. The demolition of City Gate and the nearby Freedom Square arcades cost a total of €1.39 million. The fifth