Germany vs England: Tight security in Berlin for football friendly

Security has been high in the Olympic stadium area of Berlin

Security is tight in the German capital, Berlin, Germany host England in a friendly football match.

Some 1,500 officers have been deployed to the Olympic Stadium area, authorities have said.

Officials are in high alert following Tuesday's attacks in Brussels.

Last year, a friendly between Germany and the Netherlands in Hannover was called off two hours before its start due to a security threat, four days after the Paris attacks.

One of the targets in Paris was the Stade de France, where Germany were playing France in a friendly match.

Some 72,000 people are expected to attend Saturday's match in Berlin between two of the favourites for June's Euro 2016.

Fans face tight security checks to enter the stadium

The stadium was inspected by officers ahead of the match

In the hours ahead of the game, fans gathered around the stadium amid a heavy security presence.

They face security checks and bag searches before entering the arena.

"This is of course a very large event drawing lots of people. Like all large events, there is a certain risk involved, so we are well prepared," Berlin police spokesman Stefan Redlich told Reuters news agency.

"We searched the Olympic stadium with dogs trained to sniff out explosives before we let the fans in. So we can be relatively certain that there are no dangerous objects in the stadium."