28th edition of the Hanse Sail A versatile maritime festival

Rostock, 7th August 2018

From 9 to 12 August, Rostock and Warnemünde turn into the meeting place for about 170 traditional sailors and museum ships from ten nations as well as up to one million visitors. The Hanseatic and university city will not simply celebrate a folk festival. The world's largest annual traditional sailing event is often used as a platform to invite partners from politics and business to the and to show them the potential of the maritime metropolis. "During the Hanse Sail, Rostock presents itself to guests from all over the world as a maritime, cosmopolitan business and tourism location. We are using the maritime festival to consolidate our international network - to our twin cities, cooperation partners and for the first time also to the naval capitals of the world", announces Mayor Roland Methling. From 8 to 10 August, mayors and naval representatives from the "naval capitals of the world" are expected at a conference under the motto "The city and the navy - the pursuit of development and security". It should make an important contribution to better understanding and further cooperation between cities and nations.

The Hanse Sail offers the framework for important events of the economy, such as the "Hanse Sail Business Forum" and the business meeting "Business meets Hanse Sail". The latter brings together more than 400 national and international decision-makers in front of the unique backdrop of the Hanse Sail at the invitation of the business development company "Rostock Business", the state business development agency "Invest in MV" and the state marketing agency MV in Rostock. Within the framework of an exclusive programme, the guests of the event will be offered an excellent network of national and international business contacts, specialist lectures on the topic "How digitisation is changing industries, influencing core business and production and creating new business models", time for intensive discussions and scope for new ideas. In addition to current project partners and potential investors, guests include decision-makers from business, science and politics. In the past 15 years, the locational advantages of Rostock and the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have been made tangible for a large number of companies at a special moment.

The Initiativkreis der Wirtschaft - consisting of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Rostock, the Chamber of Crafts of East Mecklenburg- Vorpommern, the Unternehmerverband Rostock-Mittleres Mecklenburg e.V. - together with the Enterprise Europe Network M-V invites to the Steigenberger Hotel Sonne in Rostock on 9 August 2018 on the topic "Hanse 4.0 - Trends of the economy in the Baltic Sea region". Here, the organisers, together with representatives of state politics and around 150 guests from business and science, are looking forward to future-oriented focal points such as export and logistics through to the digitisation and networking of

services, starting with the long history of the Baltic Sea as a trading area. Entrepreneurs from the region report on the opportunities and challenges in opening up new markets in the Baltic Sea region.

That the Hanse Sail is also of great importance for tourism is emphasised by Tourism Director Matthias Fromm: "The maritime experience is the number one booking reason for our guests and the Hanse Sail is the figurehead for this. This year, the focus is on maritime diversity through an extraordinary event chain: The 38th International Hanseatic Day has made Rostock's Hanseatic roots tangible, the Warnemünder Woche focused on the maritime- sport side of the Baltic seaside resort, the Hanse Sail focuses on traditional sailing and the 1st Rostock Cruise Festival in September emphasises the importance of Rostock-Warnemünde as a future-oriented European destination for cruise ships".

The programme of the Hanse Sail is developed further every year and supplemented by new focal points. "This year we are setting fresh accents for families. To this end, we have added new programme items or are reviving old ones," explains event manager Holger Bellgardt. With the friendly support of OSPA the fairy tale musical "Tabaluga" will be performed by the Maffay show band Steppenwolf on the stage of the Hanse Sail, August 9th. For the first time the Circus Fantasia is also part of the Hanse Sail and invites you to a varied program on the Kabutzenhof, with a Silent Sound Disco on Friday evening as well as a children's circus show, a participatory circus course and live music on Saturday. On the weekend the Institute of Physics of the University of Rostock organizes the Science@Sail at the Max Planck Institute. The two-day science show brings the whole family to the "Planet Science" with interesting short lectures, experiments to do it yourself and experience as well as exciting show lectures. On Saturday, 's young sailors will fight for the Mayor's Cup at the "Regatta der Optimisten" on Gehlsdorfer Ufer.

In the IGA Park in Rostock-Schmarl more than 70 model makers from all over Germany participate in the 9th Mini-Sail. Sailing ships, paddle-steamers, ferries and seaplanes in miniature format can be admired from Thursday to Sunday and some of the miniatures can also be tried out by children on Friday and Saturday. Also on Saturday, the traditional ship of the Rostock Shipbuilding and Shipping Museum and the youth ship "Likedeeler" invite you to a family day. A ZK10 Cutterruder Cup and the pedal boat race, organized by students of the University of Rostock, provide sporty entertainment.

The open naval base in Hohe Düne also has child-friendly activities on offer. In addition, young people can find out about the possibilities of service in the Bundeswehr in the career truck and at Open-Ship. Helicopter sightseeing flights are also available from Hohe Düne.

The thematic markets on all four Hanse Sail days promise fun for young and old. This year's highlights on the large fairground in the city harbour are the

round trip "Shaker", the family roller coasters "Drachen" and "Speedy- Gonzalis" as well as a 26 meter long submarine simulation facility.

Visitors to the Hanse Sail can travel back in time in two places. The market "Leben in der Hansezeit" on the Silo Peninsula invites you to take a look at the time of the Hanseatic League. The Hanseatic cogs from Bremerhaven, Kiel and Wismar will also moor there. In the pirate village opposite the Haedge Peninsula, the little ones marvel at pirate battles and try their hand at crossbow shooting.

The Hanse Sail, on the other hand, is looking to the future when it comes to sustainability. The Fair Trade area in front of the CarLo 615, for example, uses a variety of workshops and entertaining lectures to convey the importance of Fair Trade and invites visitors to taste the products for themselves. The Fair Transport sailor "Nordlys", built in 1873, moors directly opposite, transporting his goods across the world's oceans only with the power of the wind. The ship invites you for sightseeing and to a bar where you can taste different kinds of Caribbean rum.

"The fact that we can maintain the proven at the Hanse Sail and set new impulses every year is only possible thanks to the friendly support of our main sponsors, the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the OSPA as well as the Hanseatic Brewery Rostock", emphasizes Holger Bellgardt. "A total of 40 partners support us, to whom our special thanks go to."

The Hanse Sail Rostock is the largest annual traditional sailing event in the world. Since 1991, the maritime folk festival takes place annually on the second weekend of August. Around 200 participating ships, together with cruise liners, ferries and ships of the Navy offer a lively maritime world exhibition. A moving experience for visitors and companies is to experience first-hand the traditional seafaring as a sailor on one of the ships. On land there is a colorful bustle with market stalls, passenger shops and numerous stages. Forums, conferences, exhibitions and sports competitions accompany the event. Every year, Hanse Sail Rostock counts up to one million visitors.

Further information and accreditation 28. Hanse Sail Rostock from 9th to 12th August 2018 www.hansesail.com

Bildunterschrift/Bildunterschriften

01_ausfahrt-der-schiffe_c_hanse sail rostock.jpg Along with guests sailing on board, the traditional ships set course every day on the Baltic Sea during the Hanse Sail. Photo: Hanse Sail Rostock

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