Let the Royal Greenwich festivities begin

The Falmouth to Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Regatta 2014 is now sailing into London for the Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Festival – a five day event for the whole community, with up to a million people expected. 

The Tall Ships Festival, which is sponsored by Barratt London, promises to be one of the most spectacular events in London this summer and will see up to 50 international Tall Ships lining the banks of the River Thames in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.   Visitors will be able to explore many of the vessels themselves by going on board for free, as well as enjoying a full programme of festivities, performances, events and cultural activities.

The vessels need to arrive by the deadine of 12 noon, Friday 5 September and will be moored at four sites along the Greenwich and Woolwich stretches of the Thames. Two main festival sites will host the exciting on shore programme of free events.

It is the first time in 25 years that such an event has come to London and the first ever in Greenwich.  

Royal Borough of Greenwich cabinet member for culture and creative industries Miranda Williams said: 

“To be hosting this event is a huge privilege and we know we offer the ideal location – our stunning waterfront and historic maritime buildings will make a wonderful backdrop for these vessels.We have a packed programme of events planned, offering the very best in entertainment which will make for a fantastic five days.”

The Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Festival follows the international Tall Ships race from Falmouth to Isle of Wight and the winners of the race will be presented with their prizes at an awards ceremony at the Queen’s House in Greenwich on Saturday (6 September).

The festival will end next Tuesday (9 September) when all the vessels take part in a Parade of Sail. During the afternoon they will go up river from Woolwich, through the Thames Barrier, crossing the Prime Meridian line, then turning at Greenwich to go downstream together, then into the Thames Estuary to disperse and head for their homes around the world.

You can still track the vessels as they arrive into London on the Yellow Brick satellite tracking system – accessible from the Sail Training International website here.

Photo:  Stad Amsterdam in Canary Wharf by Valery Vasilevskiy

More photos of the event can be seen on Facebook.

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For further information contact Sally Titmus, Communications and Marketing Manager, Sail Training International on +44 (0)23 9258, sally.titmus@sailtraininginternational.org  

About Sail Training International (STI)

STI is the international voice of Sail Training, a registered charity (not-for-profit organisation), which has worldwide membership and activities. Its purpose is the development and education of young people through the Sail Training experience, regardless of nationality, culture, religion, gender or social background. It organises the annual Tall Ships Races and other international Tall Ship sailing events. STI members are 29 national Sail Training organisations around the world and STI’ head office is in Gosport, Hampshire, UK.

The organisation was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2007 for its work in promoting international understanding and friendship www.sailtraininginternational.org

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