US presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke before thousands of people in Berlin, Germany as part of his European tour.
He introduced himself to the eager crowd as both a US citizen and a 'citizen of the world.'
He went onto to celebrate the walls that have been torn down in Europe, not just in Berlin, but also in Belfast.
'America has no better partner than Europe,' he added.
Earlier in the day, Mr Obama joined the German Chancellor at her offices in Berlin as he aims at burnishing his foreign policy credentials.
The Illinois senator told reporters travelling with him that he wants the US and Europe to rediscover their 'common ground'.
'Obviously Berlin is representative of the extraordinary success of the post World War II effort to bring the continent together and to bring the West together, and later to bring the East and the West together,' he said.
Mr Obama also defended himself against claims he is defying convention by electioneering abroad, saying he wanted to speak to the whole of Europe so he needed a big venue.
Ahead of the heavily-choreographed event, crowds began gathering this morning at the speech venue, where bands and DJs are to warm up the crowd before Obama takes the stage.
The Berlin speech (left) was his only public address of a week-long foreign tour, an outdoor address on transatlantic ties that is likely to draw tens of thousands of people.
Mr Obama has said he will seek to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months if he becomes president and wants European countries to send more troops to Afghanistan.
However, before her meeting with the US presidential candidate, Chancellor Merkel stressed that Germany had no plans to commit more troops to fight the Taliban.
Ms Merkel also brushed aside a flap over her objection to Mr Obama's initial wish to speak at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German unity and site of John F Kennedy's 1963 speech (right), saying she took the 'perhaps a bit old-fashioned' view that the landmark should be reserved for sitting presidents.
Barack Obama is instead speaking in Tiergarten Park at the Victory Column, a 19th century monument to celebrate the defeats of France, Austria and Denmark in successive wars and more recently a venue for the wildly popular Love Parade techno festival.
