Chain of light divides Berlin along the former site of the Wall

The balloon display of lights shows how the city was divided. Credit: Twitter: German Foreign Office

A spectacular light show will take place in Berlin later this evening as 7,000 illuminated helium balloons will be released into the night sky.

The balloons are currently perched along the site of the former Wall, on poles of almost 12 ft high - the same height as the barrier built in 1961 by Community East Germany.

The balloon display, which dramatically illustrates how the Wall cut through the heart of Berlin, is also porous to enable people to easily move back and forth between the former East and West Berlin.

Children play on the former site of the Berlin Wall. Credit: Reuters

The balloons will be set free on in a few hours time, symbolically reenacting the Wall's collapse.

The balloons show where the wall stood. Credit: Reuters

The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to stop East Germans fleeing to the West.

It began as a brick wall and was then fortified as a heavily guarded 100 mile double white concrete screen that encircled West Berlin, slicing across streets, between families, and even through graveyards.

The lights from the balloons symbolising where the wall was are reflected on the river Spree in Berlin. Credit: Reuters

At least 138 people were killed trying to escape to West Berlin and many who were captured ended up in jail.