Ships, crews, and visitors will come together for five days of camaraderie on the
water.
Ships, crews, and visitors will come together for five days of camaraderie on the
water.
When you think of festivals in Amsterdam most people tend to associate the city with large scale dance music events such as Awakenings and DGTL or the annual orange madness that is the street and canal fest King’s Day.
But there is another festival that has been drawing the crowds since 1975 and making waves, it is the quinquennial maritime spectacle that is SAIL Amsterdam.
The first edition saw 800 plus ships from 20 countries take part and within 20 years, millions of people would descend upon Amsterdam to catch a glimpse.
Coincidently the very first SAIL aligned with the 700th birthday of Amsterdam and ships moored in the Eastern dock lands of the city. Every 5 years, more tall ships decided to set sail and dock for a unique mega display of maritime history, ingenuity and culture.
Amsterdam is perfect for an event of this nature given its rich maritime history. SAIL festival now draws in crowds of 2 million plus visitors. Visitors to the attraction can expect to see more than 800 ships of all shapes and sizes.
Over the years, tall ships ranging from 50 metres to 110 metres and from countries such as Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Norway, Netherlands, Italy, Great Britain, Russia, Portugal, Romania, Indonesia, India, Bulgaria, Oman have all set sail from IJMuiden through the North Sea Canal route and into Amsterdam.
The next SAIL Amsterdam will be in August 2030 and it will the 11th edition.
The event is free. However, if you want to join the event on the water, you’ll need a ticket for the boat trip.
Start at the Eastern docklands, Piet Heinkade and the River IJ of course.
