Hosting a major football tournament was "wonderful" for the host country, the German Ambassador said on a visit to Bristol.

Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006 where Italy won for the fourth time and the hosts finished third.

For Georg Boomgaarden, the tournament was most memorable for the festival mood that swept across Germany.

During the tournament, organisers pioneered the concept of fan parks, known in Germany as Fan Fest, where millions of supporters who could not get into the matches congregated to party and watch matches on big screens.

Far from being a poor alternative to a seat in the stadium, the Fan Fest became for many the place to be, attracting hundreds of thousands to Germany to savour the carnival atmosphere.

More than 18 million people turned up to follow the matches on a total of 39 giant screens rigged up in prime city centre locations in cities throughout the country.

It was a party of Oktoberfest proportions – 3.5 million Bratwurst sausages were wolfed down with just as many litres of beer. The Fan Fest also employed 19,000 people.

Mr Boomgaarden attended several matches. He said: "It's wonderful to have the World Cup in your own country. Football is hugely popular across the world. It's something for everybody.

"Everybody is upbeat, everybody wants to join in and have fun. Germany was just like a big festival, people from across the world meeting together and forming friendships."

Mr Boomgaarden added: "Being on the streets watching the games was amazing. You could have watched the games on television at home, but the atmosphere on the streets was like watching in a huge stadium.

"People were so relaxed. It was a wonderful atmosphere that I'm sure could be recreated in England and in Bristol.

"I saw some of the games in Kaiserslautern. The enthusiasm for football there was incredible, it's not how big the city is but how much they love the game."

If England gets chosen as host country in 2018 and Bristol as one of the host locations, fan parks in the city could be set up in locations such as Millennium Square, Ashton Court and the Downs.

The Bristol bid team headed to Hannover in August to learn about fan fests, transport links, accommodation for teams and visitors, and policing and crowd control, among other issues, from the team who worked on the tournament in Germany 2006.