Fifth Cruise Days event attracts crowds by showcasing ships in the German port city
By
Michele Witthaus |
As part of a ten-day programme of cruise-focused events that for the first time included a collaboration with Seatrade Europe 2015, the city of Hamburg hosted its regular Hamburg Cruise Days event from 11-13 September. The Cruise Days followed directly after the industry conference and exhibition this year to encourage attendance from more visitors to each event.
The Cruise Days celebrations capitalised on calls from eight cruise liners over the course of the weekend. In a parade of three ships, AIDA Cruises’ AIDAbella, TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 4 and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europa processed up the Elbe River on Saturday night to the accompaniment of a fireworks display. A flotilla of 25 smaller ships accompanied the procession, with many more small craft following behind to enjoy the occasion, for which large numbers of the city’s residents turned out.
AIDAbella’s participation in the parade demanded that the ship conduct the longest ever reversing manoeuvre by a ship in the fleet to assume its position at the head of the three cruise ships in the sail-past.
Last year, nearly 600,000 people and 189 vessels attended the Hamburg Cruise Days event. The next Cruise Days will take place from 6-10 September 2017.
During the ten-day cruise programme, light artist Michael Batz presented his light installation Blue Port Hamburg, which featured blue lights installed throughout the canals and waterfront area of the port as well as some of the city’s main attractions.
The Hamburg Cruise Days event takes place in the Hafen City neighbourhood, where intensive development is taking place, and where the city’s spectacular new Elbphilharmonie concert hall will be unveiled early in 2016, following the opening later this year of part of the public areas of the building, designed by architects Herzog & De Meuron.