835th Port Anniversary of Hamburg
Landlubbers are also welcome
The 835th Port Anniversary of Hamburg will take place from May 9th to 12th, 2024.
© ddp images
Hamburg is celebrating its 835th port anniversary on land and at sea. Here are some highlights from the program.
Ahoy! Soon thousands of people will gather in Hamburg again to celebrate the port’s birthday. Now in its 835th year, the port’s anniversary has large water and land programs to entertain sailors and landlubbers alike – whether big or small. Here are some highlights that visitors can see.
How much is the fish?
This year the big festival will take place from May 9th to 12th and will feature around 250 ships, including tall ships, traditional ships, pleasure boats, ocean-going tugs and naval ships, but also modern emergency ships Federal police or fire department.
The colorful harbor mile between Baumwall and Landungsbrücken welcomes locals and tourists from 10:00 a.m. with all sorts of culinary delights, music and numerous stalls – before an ecumenical opening service takes place in the main church of St. Michaelis from 2:00 p.m. The harbor anniversary will be spectacularly and officially opened shortly afterwards as part of an entry parade from 4:00 p.m. And this year’s country partner is presenting its own “Latvia Festival” at the Kehrwiederspitze, where the country provides insights into its culture.
On Friday evening from 8:45 p.m. “Elbe in Concert” will take place – a birthday show where, among other things, excerpts from the musicals “The Lion King” and “Frozen” will be shown. HP Baxxter, 60, will also perform with his cult band Scooter at a fireworks display and perhaps even give visitors a “How Much Is The Fish?” smash against. Another highlight of the following Saturday for many will be the unique tugboat ballet at 5:00 p.m., in which the powerful ships dance across the water.
Everything you ever wanted to know about ships
For the little ones and all those young at heart who have always wanted to go to sea, the “Open Ship” offer on all four days – a day of open portholes for participating ships – will probably be something very special. On board, visitors learn more about the history of the ships, can ask questions, look at the command bridge or perhaps even take a look into the engine room. According to the city’s information page, around 70,000 people take advantage of this opportunity every year.
Before the doors are closed until 2025 on Sunday evening, there will be a big departure parade from 5:30 p.m. during which the ships leave the port of the Hanseatic city.
One Your own web app helps with this, to keep yourself up to date with the program or to create a watch list with interesting dates. There is also a harbor map to make navigation easier.