Berlin ? Michael Jackson was honored Thursday as “pop artist of the millennium” at a gala in Berlin, capping a German visit that was overshadowed by a furor after the star held his baby son over a fourth-floor railing at his hotel.

“Berlin, Ich liebe dich” ” “Berlin, I love you” ” Jackson said in German to the crowd of hundreds of invited guests after he received the special Bambi award from three-time Wimbledon tennis champion Boris Becker. “A city so full of energy ” it’s very special to me.”

Jackson, dressed in a glittering black jacket and black pants, blew a kiss to the crowd after shyly donning reading glasses for a brief acceptance speech in which he urged the children of Germany to “work for your dreams, work for your ideals.”