Dusseldorf Smile Days

Photo: Jannike Haar Author: Philipp Schiwek Keywords: smile days

Since 2007, Amazing Dusseldorf has been addressing the topics concerning life for foreigners in a new home and one of the first impressions a foreigner experiences when arriving in Germany is the lack of smiling faces.

That's why we appealed to the folks in Dusseldorf to join in and show that smiling belongs out in the open domain. Smiling is an expression of positive thinking and that helps in almost all situations; at the supermarket, on the bus, on a plane and while walking.

We invited anyone who wished to join in, to smile at five strangers they would otherwise not have smiled at. Take a photo of the returned smile or have your own smile photographed. The winner with the nicest expression were to receive two business tickets to a professional american football game with the local team, Rhein Fire.

This was in Partnership with Rhein Fire, Rheinbahn and Rhein-Bote. There were five Smile Days that year, 14 and 28 April, 12 May, 3 and 16 June, all game days of Rhein Fire. The Cheerleaders were also sent through town to take Photos. The resonance was enormous and the excellent coverage in the media, both TV and Press, created wonderful responses.