Many guests at the anniversary party in Munich’s Reithalle could be proud of having been part of the team from day one: 15 years ago, FOCUS was founded as a challenge to Germany’s leading weekly “Der Spiegel”—and established itself in the shortest time as a successful news magazine.

“Back then, we actually managed to break the monopoly of one magazine in the news business,” Herbert Burda recalled on Thursday evening. The founding of FOCUS had been a “herculean task” said the publisher as he honoured Editor-in-Chief Helmut Markwort with a sculpture of a lion. In turn, the FOCUS boss thanked Burda for his courage and reminded him of the legendary walk they took along Lake Tegernsee that had led to the kick-off of the magazine.

At midnight, the Editor-in-Chief cut a slice from the birthday cake under a confetti shower and shared a toast with his team on their successful work: “Today we want to party, party, party!” Markwort chanted, quipping his own famous marketing slogan, and wished for something he can never seem to get enough of: facts, facts, facts.

The Focus team was joined in its jubilee party by 850 guests from media, business, politics and entertainment: Conservative Party Chairman Erwin Huber, Head of State Chancellery Eberhard Sinner, Minister of the Interior Joachim Herrmann, Minister for European Affairs Markus Soeder, President of the Bavarian Parliament Alois Glueck, SPD whip Franz Maget, Lord Mayor Christian Ude as well as actors Veronica Ferres, Manfred Krug and Sky Du Mont. Even Bavaria’s First Minister Guenther Beckstein attended the event despite a full schedule.

FOCUS’ own choir entertained the guest with a performance of a song in the style of Marianne Rosenberg titled “He belongs to me, lies as subscription at my door”. Comedian Piet Klocke also contributed to the evening’s entertainment.

The team surely had something to celebrate: 783 issues with 106,685 pages of editorial content and 84,089 pages of advertising have been published so far. 755 million magazines have been printed. The magazine is produced by 500 associates in the editorial department as well as in advertising, printing, facility management, administration and shipping. 72 correspondents report from Germany and abroad. Many of them had travelled to the party in Munich from Paris, London and Moscow.

In the meanwhile, success has spread across an entire brand: FOCUS online and FOCUS TV were launched in 1996, FOCUS-MONEY followed in 2000. The first issue of FOCUS-SCHULE was published in 2004, FOCUS GESUNDHEIT started in 2005, followed by FOCUS-CAMPUS one and a half years ago.