From August 13-16, the Port reverberated to international sights and sounds as the crowds enjoyed a continental market and other spectacular exhibitions, as well as the Tall Ships. The festival was a truly world-class event, with over £10m estimated to have been generated for the local economy by out-of-town visitors. It was the second time the Tall Ships had sailed to Belfast – the first being in 1991 – and the event bore testament to the strides the City has made in those 18 years. 

Looking back on the historic event, Belfast Harbour Chairman, Len O’Hagan, said:

“Belfast has changed dramatically since 1991 and Tall Ships 2009was another important step in the ongoing process of building the image of the new Belfast. Nowhere is the new Belfast more evident than in its historic harbour, which is home to an impressive maritime legacy stretching back 400 years. Belfast is reconnecting with its waterfront and Tall Ships 2009 was the culmination of a remarkable period of change.

“The event was a celebration of a city that has rediscovered its place in the world. For the hundreds of thousands of people who came from all parts of the globe to enjoy it, the Tall Ships was an incredible experience and one which they will remember for a lifetime.”

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Tall Ships at Abercorn Basin

The 7,000 nautical mile race to Belfast began in Spain, traveling via Tenerife, the Canary Island, Bermuda, Charleston, Boston and Halifax in Canada.

Tall Ships 2009 proved to be the biggest event the island of Ireland has ever hosted, with up to 100,000 holiday-makers estimated to have visited Northern Ireland specifically to attend the event. Belfast was the finishing port for the 7,000-nautical mile Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge and the 40 boats which berthed in the city for four days were hugely impressive in appearance. These included the Cisne Branco from Brazil, the Capitan Miranda from Uruguay and the Sagres, from Portugal, all of which had left Halifax, Novia Scocia, in July as part of a voyage which had began in Vigo in Spain and took in Tenerife, Bermuda, Charleston and Boston in the US. 

When the hundreds of thousands of visitors managed to take their eyes off the ships for a moment, there was plenty of other entertainment for them to enjoy, including fireworks, street theatre, aerobatic displays, live music, a continental market and a fun fair. This was the Tall Ships’ first visit to Northern Ireland since 1991 – the half a million people who attended the event at the Port this summer will be hoping it is not another 18 years before they sail back into this city and we witness similar scenes to those illustrated in our Tall Ships gallery.