Kiel Week is held annually in the last week in June, and opens officially on the preceding Saturday with the official
Glasen, followed by the
Holstenbummel. The "Soundcheck" is on the Friday before the official opening; it is a music festival across all the stages within the city. Kiel Week, ends with a large fireworks display at 11 p.m. on Sunday, fired from pontoons or the quays at the
Howaldtswerke, visible all across the
Kiel Fjord. There are also many minigames. Most ship races begin at the Olympic Harbor of
Schilksee, also the centre of most sporting activities during Kiel Week. As Schilksee is located outside of the inner city and most sailing competitions take place yet further out, only some races – mainly of smaller boat types – can be viewed from shore, namely from along the
Kiellinie at the west coast of the Kiel Fjord. Kiel Week usually gathers around 5,000 sailors, 2,000 ships, and about three million visitors each year. The event is organized in a joint effort by the
Yacht Club of Kiel, the
Norddeutscher Regattaverein, the
Hamburger Sailing Club, and the
Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee. While Kiel Week started out as a ship racing championship, it has long since become a large festival with many popular bands playing on public stages. They often play for free, although the corporate sponsors (many from the
Schleswig-Holstein media and telecommunications industry) usually display their involvement prominently. Most of the stages can be found at the Kiellinie (the western side of the Kieler Förde from the Düsternbrook yacht harbour past the Schleswig-Holstein parliament building to the big inner-city ferry harbour), and as of late, across the
Hoernbridge to the Germania harbour and the Hörn. Another area of rich cultural activity in the city centre (Rathausplatz, Holstenbrücke) and the area connecting the city centre with the ferry harbour (Alter Markt, Dänische Straße, Schloßpark). Between the public stages and especially on the
International Market on the Rathausplatz, food specialties from different countries can be eaten. Small street performances and street comedy are performed in many places. A special children's program is available at the
Spiellinie. Kiel Week is also one of the largest tall ship conventions in Germany, attracting many German and international traditional ships, mainly sailing ships. Many of them spend the week doing day tours out of Kiel, thus berthing much more in view of the festival visitors than the racing boats at Kiel-Schilksee. More than 100 traditional ships and hundreds of yachts usually participate in the Tall Ships Parade (
Windjammerparade) on the day before the closing day of the Kiel Week, i.e. usually on the second Saturday of Kiel Week. The Parade was first held in 1972, under the name of
Operation Sail, and was organized in celebration of the Olympic Summer Games in Germany that year, whose sailing competitions took place in Kiel. It was the first large gathering of tall ships since the time of the windjammers, and its success led to the annual Parade and to the foundation of the first
sail training organization in Germany (
Clipper DJS). Today, the Parade is often headed by the
Gorch Fock, a sister ship to the German-built
USCGC Eagle (WIX-327). == Kiel Week Poster and Enamel Plaques==