Kiel Week Program 2004

Enjoy sailing from close-up

Sailing Week:
KIEL.SAILING CITY invites you to the world's largest sailing festival, with 5,500 participants from around 50 nations with 2,000 yachts, yawls and surfboards. Olympic winners and world champions will gather to test their strength one last time before the Athens Olympics. Experience the fascinating sport of sailing close-up in the special ship that accompanies the regattas.

Festival week:
Celebrate, have fun, join in: festive opening on 19 June on the Rathausplatz. Highlights include the International Market in front of the City Hall with specialties from around the world, fun for kids on the Spiellinie with arts and crafts, theatre performances and plenty of room to run about, a large open-air festival at many different venues all over the city, street theatre and jugglers, and a variety of fun sports and games. The crowning conclusion is the great Kiel Week fireworks display, one of the most beautiful in Europe: 27 June, 11 p.m.

Windjammer week:
The fascination of giant sails: day trips on windjammers and traditional sailing ships. Watch the whole fleet leaving the Kiel Fjord at the windjammer parade on 26 June, 11 a.m. A world-famous event and an unforgettable experience for those who go to sea and those who just go to see. Over a hundred windjammers, tall ships and other traditional sailing ships will be out on the water.

Maritime week:
The large naval review at Kiel Naval Base will feature destroyers, frigates, minesweepers and speedboats from different nations. There will be an impressive forest of masts on Kiel Fjord. Visit "taster" courses at the sailing camp in KIEL.SAILING CITY, and hands-on marine science exhibitions on board research ships.

Culture week:
Its highlights include Open-air classics with the Kiel Philharmonic Orchestra on 23 June on the Rathausplatz, the premiere of the opera "Otello" on 20 June and concerts in churches. Many arts exhibitions take place, including graphic art from the Dürer period (Kunsthalle), sculptures from Denmark's contemporary art scene (Stadtgalerie) and originals of famous fashion designers (Stadtmuseum). Cabaret and folk will be played in the Krusenkoppel open-air amphitheatre. More than 300 open-air concerts at many venues will invite the visitor to watch, listen and take part. Municipal venues offer opera, plays, ballet and youth theatre. And last but not least "The Spiellinie", Germany's largest open-air arts event for children, attracts the kids.

Talk week:
Diplomats, politicians and academics around the world will be visiting Kiel. Highlights include a major meeting of parliamentarians from the Baltic Sea region on 20 and 21 June, an international world economic conference on 21 and 22 June, exciting lectures for the public on oceanographic research at the Aquarium, and on economics at the Kiel Institute for World Economics, plus discussions and talk groups on current issues concerning associations and trade unions.

Sports week:
KIEL.SAILING CITY is about more than just sailing. There will be competitions for trophies in more than 30 different sports. There's something to suit everyone: cycling and rhythmic gymnastics, miniature golf and basketball, bowling and canoe polo, handball and hockey, rugby and roller figure skating, chess and a street run for students, plus a lot of mass sports and fun activities to enjoy.

More about the Kiel Week 2004