From Friday 22 to Monday 25 July, 43 of sailing ships will moor up in Antwerp for the Tall Ships Races, organised by the city of Antwerp and Port of Antwerp-Bruges in collaboration with Balthazar Events. Preparations for this sailing competition, whose 2nd leg this time is from Antwerp to Aalborg in Denmark, are in full swing.
43 Tall Ships will moor up at the Scheldt quays, the Kattendijk dock and the docks around the MAS from 22 to 25 July. This is the seventh time the city has been able to welcome these ships. The Tall Ships Races consist of 2 races: a first race from Esbjerg in Denmark to Harlingen in the Netherlands, after which they sail on from Harlingen to Antwerp. The second race departs Antwerp on 25 July and will set sail for Aalborg in Denmark.
The last edition to visit Antwerp, in 2016, attracted more than 500,000 visitors to the city. The organisation now hopes to match those numbers.
Participating ships are divided into classes, designated by a letter from A-D, with A-ships being the largest. 16 of those class A ships will be on display during the stop in Antwerp, alongside a host of B, C and D ships.
The Tall Ships Races Antwerp are organised by the city of Antwerp and Port of Antwerp-Bruges under the umbrella of Sail Training International (STI). Sail Training International is the leading organiser and provider of races, events, conferences, seminars, publications, research and other services for the international sail training community. One of the founding members of STI is Sail Training Association Belgium, the umbrella sailing organisation in Belgium and a partner of The Tall Ships Races.
The main sponsor of The Tall Ships Races 2022 is Orange Belgium. Other sponsors are: MSC, PSA, Securitas, Nextensa, Duvel, Lantis, J&M Catering, Van Bavel, Antwerp Nautical Centre, Royal Belgium Shipowners Association, EuroChem and Ceusters NV.