Blue Hamburg and cultural regeneration
Picture: courtesy of getyourguide.co.uk
Hamburg will be celebrating its 828th port anniversary in May 2017 along with Hamburg Cruise Days in September.
The port and its iconic buildings will be entirely lit in shades of the colour blue by light artist Michael Batz on September 8th-10th 2017.
The port has three cruise terminals and around 50 facilities specialised in handling roro and breakbulk along with 7,300 logistics companies within the city limits. It is one of the most highly flexible and high-performance universal ports. 137.8 million tons of cargo crossed the quay walls in 2015. It is the third largest container port in Europe, and just under 2,000 freight trains use the port per week. Cisco has been improving traffic issues in Hamburg. The city and port needed a reliable secure and integrated fibre-optic backbone and there are now 300 sensors in place for roadways, bridges and for incoming ship traffic.
A new cultural and residential centre in the historic port, the Elbphilharmonie combines innovative architecture with an impressive glass façade and wave-like rooftop. There is a public viewing area called the Plaza which extends around the whole building. Two concert halls, a hotel and residential apartments completes this regeneration project. Designed by the Swiss architects, Herzog & de Meuron, the complex straddles the River Elbe, forming a link between the city and port.
Hamburg Cruise Days will be held along side the Seatrade Europe fair, linking tourism to business. A total of ten cruise ships including the Norwegian Jade (Norwegian Cruise Line), Europe and Europa 2 (both Hapag-Lloyd Cruises) will sail into the port.
It is being described as an essential part of Hamburg's history and a "pulsating urban experience". The organiser, Cruise Gateway Hamburg broke records in 2016 with a total of 171 ports of call to Hamburg and over 700,000 passengers.
Sacha Rougier, MD of the company said 'the recipe for success lies in the close co-operation between urban actors in cruise shipping and the private economy'