Finale unlike any before it! Fourth Tall Ships Races in the pipeline

31 July – 3 August 2021. Save the date just now. It is when Szczecin will become a world sailing capital. The biggest sailers are going to once again dock to the capital of West Pomerania.

A huge event is coming – the fourth finale of the Tall Ships Races in Szczecin. The largest and most important regatta in the world is returning to the Baltic, with the participants sailing right into the capital of West Pomerania. We are already looking forward to the finale and following what is going on in the world with bated breath. We are ready to welcome beautiful sailing ships and celebrate the race finale. The years 2007, 2013 and 2017 abounded in dozens of accompanying events and concerts of world stars. Those who have already taken part in the Tall Ships Races in Szczecin know that there is no other such event anywhere in the world. For a couple of days, our city becomes an island teeming with life, to which arrive the best sailors from all over the world, the most beautiful ships, the most interesting events and greatest numbers of tourists. This is an event one cannot miss.

Celebrations in the whole city

The next year’s finale will be different. But we guarantee it will be just as interesting as the previous editions. The present circumstances have made the organisers to change the formula of the event in order to make it safer. Having the experience from the previous editions, we can prepare not only the most interesting and biggest open-air event, but also a very safe one.

“We are going to hold the event a little bit differently than before. We want the whole city to live this event. We want to take the events to the very heart of the city and set up stages with a lot of things going on, but on a smaller scale. This will allow us to avoid gatherings of many people in one place and time. We want to extend the finale in time and space,” says Krzysztof Soska, the Vice President. “I think that all of us are waiting for those beautiful sailing ships to swim into Szczecin. The economy is awaiting them as well as it has to catch its breath after the pandemic. The tall ships will undoubtedly be a very positive stimulus for entrepreneurs from the city.”

The most significant changes will be made in the artistic domain. During the next year’s Tall Ships Races finale, instead of big, mass concerts, we will offer a couple of them, of a smaller scale.

“We have decided that we won’t have one, main, big stage. It is fairly revolutionary, but instead of one stage, there will be 9 smaller ones in various locations in the city. The zone at Jasne Błonie will be the most remote from Wały Chrobrego. These will be small stages for concerts, workshops and animations for children. Szczecin-based companies, which are now in a difficult situation, will be engaged in the programme,” says Anna Lemańczyk, director of the Szczecin Artistic Agency. “The formula was tested during the organisation of the Good Life Festival and we know it works.”

There will be from 2 to 5 stages in overall at Łasztownia and at Jan z Kolna (John of Colno) Street. They will feature concerts such as classical music, jazz or pop concerts, animations for children and public lectures. The boards of the sailers will become stages for chanty performances. Apart from those, there will be 5 other stages in other locations, which will be teeming with life during the finale. They will be located at Jasne Błonie or Orła Białego Square, among others. Thanks to that we will offer a wide range of music genres to the participants and avoid gatherings of dozens of thousands of spectators in one place.

“There will be food tracks, an amusement park and a lot of other attractions on land, thanks to which the event is so huge. Sailing ships are the biggest attraction all over the world, but Szczecin is famous for events which get the whole city involved. And next year we intend to do so even more. We want to encourage Szczecin-based entrepreneurs and residents to participate not only for two or three days at quays. We will try to make the event just as significant as the previous finales. Once again we will fill both Oder banks with sails,” says Leopold Korytkowski, event and tourism director of Żegluga Szczecińska Tourism Events. “The pandemic will be nothing more than another challenge for us. Relying on our experience and ability to respond to changes, we will do our best efforts to make the event safe and willingly attended.”

The event will be held following the sanitary restrictions. All play zones and attractions will be organised in such a way so as to meet all guidelines and make them safe for the participants.

Regatta on the Baltic

The registration of vessels taking part in the next year’s regatta has already begun. Day after day the list of crews is getting longer. Today we already know that 35 vessels are coming to Szczecin. But the applications will start pouring in only now. We are counting on seeing names of vessels known to us in the new year.

“That we can organise the regatta came to us in August this year. Szczecin was one of the few cities in Europe which undertook to organise a nautical event. We had a dozen or so vessels as guests in Szczecin. The regatta on the Baltic Sea was also held so we already have some experience in organising safe ventures of this kind,” says Jerzy Raducha, deputy director of event and international cooperation at the Sailing Centre. “The first applications or refusals to participate are already trickling in. We have already 37 vessels on the list. We are glad to have received an application of a vessel for which we had been looking forward to, which in 2017 resigned from coming to Szczecin and which confirmed its participation this year – the French sailer Belle Poule.”

The very race starts on 26 June and is to run the following route: Kłajpeda – Turku – Tallinn – Mariehamn – Szczecin. The regatta will be divided into three stages. A different number of vessels can participate in the respective stages. The captains decide in which of the races they want to take part.

“We are preparing ourselves for the event. In just a while we are starting the recruitment for Liasion Officers, who are the “blood circulation” of the event, and for the Szczecin crew, which will sail on two vessels – on a sailing ship and on the Dar Szczecina ship,” adds Jerzy Raducha.

More details on the event can be found at the website: https://tallships.szczecin.eu/