(October 1, 2005) By the time it finishes on October 9th, BUGA (the German acronym for the National Garden Festival) will have attracted nearly three million visitors, reports Christian Ude, Munich's mayor. Some one million below original forecasts, this number was enough to make this year's BUGA the best-attended of those held over the last fifteen years in Germany. The shortfall will increase the subsidies paid by the municipality of Munich from the envisioned 7.6 million to some 12 million Euro.
BUGA will go out – literally – with a bang. On October 9th, the final day, there will be a huge display of fireworks and a program of music. BUGA is over, but much of BUGA will remain, to be used and enjoyed by the generations to come.
"Souvenirs" of the Festival include Lake Riem, the hill (to be a favorite with sledders), bicycle paths, beach volleyball courts, a skaters' course, the Garden of the Potencies, the Parallel Gardens (with a display of roses and other blossoming business), the Center of the World's Religions, and the Friendship Garden, which was donated by Cincinnati, Munich's partner city. Much of the rest of BUGA will return to being part of the community's park, with several plots to serve as the sites for apartment buildings.