For sports fans, Berlin is in the premier league: the Eisbären (Polar Bears) and Alba have a collection of German championship titles in ice-hockey and basketball and Hertha BSC has been playing first-rate football for years. Union Berlin has gained cult football following that reaches far beyond the city limits. And let’s not forget about the Berlin Marathon, one of the world’s largest, the German Open in tennis, the Istaf track and field festival and many other elite international sporting events.