The highlights of the 835th harbour birthday
The run-in parade on Thursday, 09 May is the spectacular prelude to the world's largest harbour festival, as it is every year. Around 250 floating guests are expected this year, led by a unit of the German Navy.
Elbe in Concert on Friday, 10 May: A gigantic floating stage at Landungsbrücken - supported by the harbour tugs of the Fairplay Towage Group - transforms the Elbe into a sea of lights on Friday evening. Stage Entertainment will kick things off with excerpts from the Disney world hits "The Lion King", "The Ice Queen" and "Hercules". The show continues with the iconic Hamburg Goldkehlchen, whose choral singing encourages the audience to sing along. The party reaches its climax at around 9.35 pm with a live performance by the band Scooter with frontman H.P. Baxxter when the big birthday fireworks display lights up the sky over the harbour.
Tugboat ballet on Saturday, 11 May at 5 pm: When tugboats dance to classical music and Hamburg melodies, it's tugboat ballet. The "dance of the powerhouses" is unique in the world and delights hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Landungsbrücken every year. If you don't want to miss a single pirouette by the agile tugboats with up to 3,000 horsepower, you should position yourself at the edge of the harbour in good time.
Magical light illumination presented by AIDA Cruises on Saturday, 11 May: On Saturday evening, AIDA Cruises invites you to a combination of light, music and drone show at the Landungsbrücken. The internationally successful house music DJ "Alle Farben" will provide the musical accompaniment to the light show. At around 22:50, the AIDAprima will then set course for the North Sea.
Run-out parade on Sunday, 12 May: The crowning finale of every harbour birthday is the departure parade on Sunday afternoon, when visitors bid the ships a festive farewell from 5.30 pm.
Stage programme
There will be over 30 performances by various bands and choirs on the central stage at the Landungsbrücken. There will be artists from the fields of indie pop, punk, rock, funk and soul - and many shanty choirs from the north. The extensive programme has been put together by the two well-known Hamburg clubs Logo and Knus. The full stage programme can be found on the website of the NDR.
Harbour Pride and Harbour Beatz Festival
Since 2014, the Harbour Pride an integral part of the harbour birthday. Under the rainbow flag, the queer community invites you to the fish market. There is also the Harbour Beatz festival. In the StrandPauli car park, trade and lifestyle stalls and relaxed music invite you to browse during the day. In the evening, the scene DJs create a lively atmosphere with electro beats on the large open-air dance floor.
Ride along on the harbour birthday
Once again this year, there are numerous opportunities to experience the harbour festival from the water. If you would like to take a trip on the tall ships, Inmaris, for example, has the right offer for you. The Butenschön Highlights agency offers a variety of trips on tall ships and traditional vessels, both under sail and under steam. The offer ranges from accompanying trips to the major programme highlights such as the arrival parade, departure parade and fireworks to sailing trips with brunch, dinner, lunch or barbecue. Other providers of accompanying trips, charter companies for sailing yachts or harbour birthday cruises on board a launch can be found at here.
Fun and entertainment on the "colourful harbour mile"
From Thursday at 10 am to Sunday at 9 pm, the "Colourful Harbour Mile" invites you to eat, stroll and marvel. The best view of the spectacle on the water is from the Jan Fedder Promenade. There are also over 400 fairground and sales stands offering a variety of arts and crafts, fairground rides and delicious food. The partner country of the harbour birthday in 2024 is Latvia. The Baltic state will present itself with stands and cultural offerings on the Kehrwiederspitze. There will be entertainment for the whole family on several stages.
The web app for the Hafengeburtstag: If you want to have the entire programme on your mobile phone and create a personal watch list, you can download the Harbour birthday app and let it navigate you around the site.
