Euro Elvis Festival Kicks off in Hesse

The small German spa town of Bad Nauheim is preparing to welcome Elvis fans from around Europe for the fourth European Elvis Festival which begins on Thursday. The festival, four days of music and festivities celebrating the King, is expected to draw some 6,000 enthusiasts. From October 1958 until April 1960, Elvis Presley the soldier was stationed at the American military base in nearby Friedberg and lived in Bad Nauheim. Festival goers can take a look at room number 10 in the Hotel Grunewald, where the young Sergeant was quartered. Presley's bedroom, which has been kept in its original condition, has become something of a pilgrimage site for Elvis aficionados. On the night before the anniversary of his death on August 16, a candlelight ceremony will be held at the town's own Elvis memorial.