Cunard will host various celebratory events when the flagship calls in Halifax, Boston and New York
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Queen Mary 2 is to recreate Cunard Line’s first-ever Transatlantic Crossing from the UK to North America as part of the company’s 175th anniversary celebrations.
Departing from the UK port of Liverpool on 4 July, Queen Mary 2 will pay tribute to the original voyage made by the company’s first flagship, Britannia, on 4 July 1840. This journey inaugurated the first scheduled mail and passenger service across the Atlantic.
Cunard has organised celebratory onboard and commemorative shoreside events for the ship’s calls to Halifax, Nova Scotia; Boston, Massachusetts; and New York City.
“Cunard is honoured to be one of the few companies who can claim a 175-year history and to celebrate this milestone and our enduring relationships with these cornerstone cities means so much to us,” said Richard Meadows, president of Cunard North America. “We look forward to honouring Sir Samuel Cunard in his birthplace of Halifax, to commemorate our heritage in Boston in what was the first American company headquarters, and to salute our US homeport, New York, in a festive and fitting fashion.”
On 10 July, Queen Mary 2 will make her first port of call in Halifax, which was the home of founder Sir Samuel Cunard.
The visit will be marked by an outdoor ceremony for local dignitaries, Halifax port officials and community members, which will include the dedication of a future public waterfront development to Cunard. In addition, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic will reopen its Cunard exhibition and launch a new Samuel Cunard exhibit.
Meanwhile, Cunard, the Canadian Maritime Heritage Foundation and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic will award the first Samuel Cunard Prize for Vision, Courage and Creativity’ to James Irving, a Canadian industrialist. This prize will be awarded every year onboard Queen Mary 2 and recognise a recipient who exemplifies the world-changing vision, courage and creativity shown by Samuel Cunard throughout his life.
After departing the port with a ‘festive’ evening ceremony, Queen Mary 2 will sail to Boston, which was the company’s first-ever port of call in the US and the home of its original North American headquarters.
In Boston, Cunard will host a dedication ceremony to launch the newly renovated Cunard Building and donate a Servia ship model, which was built in 1881 and will be placed in the front entrance of the company’s former headquarters.
Meanwhile, Captain Kevin Oprey, master of Queen Mary 2, will throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees game at Fenway Park and there will be an evening fireworks display before the ships departs for New York City.
Although New York was not a port of call on the original transatlantic crossing, the city has been Cunard’s North America homeport for more than a century. To mark the ship’s visit on 14 July, Captain Kevin Oprey will ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. The ship will also host a light and music show while she is in lower Manhattan harbour in front of the Statue of Liberty.