Princely visit to 828th HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY

Hamburg celebrates the world’s biggest port festival
· Maritime festival with fantastic programme for young and old
· From tall ships to powerboats – more than 300 different vessels
· Country partner NANTES presents French lifestyle

More than 300 ships from all parts of the world, spectacular displays, lots of stages with live music and French savoir-vivre – the 828th HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY, from Friday 5 May to Sunday 7 May will present a varied maritime programme for the whole family, in the unique setting of the Port of Hamburg. One of the star guests will be the new blue-water superyacht MALIZIA helmed by Pierre Casiraghi and Boris Herrmann. The world’s greatest port festival will be celebrated around Landungsbrücken, in the Speicherstadt warehouse
district, the new HafenCity district, at the Fish Market and Oevelgönne Museum Harbour.

The HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY traditionally starts with an ecumenical service at St. Michalis church. The music for the service will be provided by “Stradivaria”, a baroque ensemble from this year’s country partner NANTES, France. After that the ship’s bell on the museum ship Rickmer Rickmers will be rung by Hamburg’s Mayor Olaf Scholz to open the world’s biggest port festival. At 17:00, the ships and boats in the Grand Arrival Parade will be welcomed by a traditional gun salute.

Dancing tugboats and a princely yacht
Visitors to the HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY can look forward to some 200 programme items on land and water throughout the three days of the festival up to the Grand Departure Parade at 17:30 on the Sunday. They range from the world famous Tugboat Ballet, to search and rescue exercises with helicopters, and show cruises by historic steam vessels and sailing ships. There will be plenty of thrills at the HafenCity Championships, with dragon boat races and sailing regattas in Grasbrookhafen, and taster sail cruises for kids. the patron of the event is Frank Horch, Hamburg’s Senator for Economics, Transport and Innovation.

The highlights on the water include demonstrations by the 60-foot racing yacht MALIZIA, by multiple round-the-world yachtsman and world record holder Boris Herrmann. This presentation at the world’s greatest port festival is also the start of a four-year campaign in preparation for the Vendee Globe Regatta in 2020, the toughest single-handed non-stop race in the world. Boris Herrmann from Hamburg will participate together with Pierre Casiraghi, the eldest son of Princess Caroline of Monaco. Here in his home city, Boris Herrmann will present the yacht, an Open 60 of the IMOCA Class, built in 2015, to an audience of millions for the very first time.

Anniversary celebrations
The cruise line AIDA will join in the HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY with four luxury cruise ships. It starts with the AIDAvita, which arrives in port on the Friday morning. Then the AIDAprima, where the big AIDA Firework Display starts on the Saturday evening, next to Landungsbrücken. One day later, the AIDAprima celebrates her first anniversary, and has announced a little surprise for visitors at the world’s biggest port festival. On the Sunday, the AIDAsol and AIDAluna will call on the Port of Hamburg. And the cruise ships Amadea, Astor and MSC Preziosa will also visit Hamburg during the three days of the festival.

Ships of all kinds close up
As many as four imposing tall ships will call on Hamburg, that is the Kruzenshtern, Royal Helena, Mir and Sedov. They invite visitors to come on board in the Open Ship Programme, as do many museum vessels, navy ships and working vessels of the waterways police, firefighters, customs and other authorities and institutions.

Vive la France!
A special presentation will be held at Kehrwiederspitze by NANTES, the French region located between the Loire Valley and the Bretagne, with a colourful mix of culture, information and typical culinary specialities. Foodies will love the “Producers’ Market” with its culinary highlights, and culture fans will enjoy the exhibits from French artists and designers. The maritime guest of honour from France will be the Saint-Michel II, a rebuild of the sailing ship owned by famous writer Jules Verne, who was from NANTES.

Festival flair on the banks of the Elbe
The Festival Promenade features some 350 stands with culinary specialities from all parts of the world, maritime markets, amusement rides and big event spaces for playing and fun activities. The museums in the Speicherstadt Warehouse District and HafenCity invite visitors to exhibitions and special events. There will be lots of stages with live music for every taste, making the Elbe waterfront into a real festival area. Music ranges from the charts to rock and pop, punk and heavy metal, shanties and world music. The NDR (North German Broadcasting) will present national and international stars on its covered stage next to the Old Elbe Tunnel for an amazing party atmosphere. All the concerts are free of charge to visitors.

Welcome on board!
Many of the ships and boats welcome visitors on board, and also give them opportunities to ride with them for the parades. An overview of events and lots of useful tips are given at www.hamburg.de/hafengeburtstag, or daily from 08:00 to 20:00 on the hotline of Hamburg
Tourismus GmbH: +49 40/30051300.

The HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY would like to thank all its sponsors, especially the longstanding
principal sponsor AIDA Cruises – their support is essential to make the world’s greatest
port festival possible each year for more than a million visitors from all parts of the world.