Kieler Woche 2006 will experience its highlight right from the start on 17 June: for the first time, a German head of government, Chancellor Angela Merkel, will open the largest sailing event in the world and the largest summer festival in Northern Europe.
"This is a huge thing for Kiel Week, the city and the whole country. The Chancellor's visit is an incredible boost for our festival week," said a delighted City President Rainer Tschorn and Lord Mayor Angelika Volquartz on Monday, 9 January, after the confirmation arrived by letter from Berlin.
The Kieler Woche office is already well practised in welcoming high-ranking guests to the opening; after all, last year German President Horst Köhler came to the first Kieler Woche weekend.
Kiel's Lord Mayor Angelika Volquartz played a major role in the surprise coup with the Chancellor. From her time as a member of the Bundestag and as a current member of the CDU federal executive, the head of administration maintains a good relationship with Germany's most powerful woman.
The two Christian Democrats are still in regular contact by telephone. And so, immediately after Angela Merkel's election as Federal Chancellor, Angelika Volquartz sent her first text message asking her to open Kiel Week 2006 from 17 to 25 June. This was later followed by the official invitation together with City President Tschorn.
