World Cup flair and cultural highlights

The final preparations for the 86th Warnemünder Woche run. The anticipation is growing. From 6 to 14 July, the Baltic resort will once again be focusing on cultural highlights, sailing and sporting action on the beach. At the opening press conference, representatives of the organization, from sailing and politics presented the program.

"At the Warnemünder Woche I think of the sailors who come to us from all over the world, but of course also of the extensive cultural and sports program on land. I am delighted that we are allowed to host and present our city at its best," said Eva-Maria Kröger, Mayor of the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock. She praised the high level of volunteer commitment that is brought in year after year in a wide variety of areas - in the sailing competitions, the organization of the summer festival, the dragon boat festival and the beach sports tournaments. "For weeks and months, volunteers have been sacrificing their free time to Warnemünder Woche a success. Many hundreds more will join us during the event. I would like to express my sincere thanks for this enormous commitment!” said Kröger at the opening press conference.

The mayor emphasized the importance of Warnemünder Woche for Rostock and Warnemünde: “From a sporting point of view, the sailing competitions at the highest level are a great showcase. They show that athletes from all over the world appreciate the good conditions in our sailing area. Culturally, the event offers a diverse program - from the traditional Niege Ümgang to modern music performances and public viewing. There is something for everyone.” The sporting and international flair during the Warnemünder Woche The holidaymakers and day visitors to the Baltic Sea resort would appreciate the varied cultural programme on land, and the entire town would benefit economically from it.

"It is only possible to organize a major event with so many groups involved if everyone is enthusiastic about the event and wants to create something great together," said Matthias Fromm, Tourism Director of Rostock & Warnemünde. "I am really pleased that we are all pulling together - the many volunteers and the full-time team at the tourism center - and that the collaboration is not only professional and trusting, but also fun." One cannot appreciate enough that all the people involved invest so much time on a voluntary basis to make the city with the Warnemünder Woche to enrich.

"We must also not forget the sensational support of our sponsors, without whom we would not be able to hold the event. It is nice to see that many partners are also very committed to the content," said Fromm. The various parts of the event have become increasingly closer together - sailing, summer festival, dragon boat festival and beach sports - and together they will Warnemünder Woche turn off.

The tourism director himself is delighted with the 86th. Warnemünder Woche especially on those sailing competitions that are held close to the audience, close to the beach, the Niege Ümgang and the WIRO sports day, which shows the diversity of Rostock's sports landscape year after year. A novelty this year: Anyone who comes to the Warnemünde Tourist Information with the guest card introduced last autumn will receive a free pin of the Warnemünder Woche. For the first time, there will also be merchandise products for the event, on which a 10 percent discount is granted with the guest card.

Ingeborg Regenthal, deputy chairwoman of the Warnemünde Association, gave a foretaste of the traditional parade "Niege Ümgang" (July 6): "As in the previous year, we are expecting around 2.500 to 3.000 participants, which we are very pleased about. This time we have a lot of music with three marching bands and an orchestra, as well as a small mascot parade and we are including new historical figures. Mathias Stagat from the Lighthouse Association and Silke Janz (NDR) will comment on the colorful hustle and bustle at the red arrow, and there will also be a moderator on Kurhausstrasse."

As another cultural programme tip, Regenthal mentioned the 20th anniversary of the music festival “Open-Air by the Sea – Smoke on the Water” on Thursday of Warnemünder Woche. She said of the program on the Kurhausgarten stage: "Together with the KVS agency, we have once again put together a diverse program. I would like to expressly thank the NDR for their support."

On the water, Peter Ramcke, sports director Warnemünder Woche, there are many highlights in the sailing competitions. He is particularly looking forward to the World Championships for the Zoom 8 class, a small, light single-handed dinghy for children and young people. "This is a very interesting class, in which there used to be large fields. In 2005 I was in charge of the last World Championships in Germany, and now it's time again," said Ramcke.

He mentioned the two European Cups (Ilca/29er) as further highlights. “The Ilca sailors have been with the Warnemünder Woche there, but it's a premiere for the 29ers. Hopefully they like the area and the conditions," said the sports director, who is also looking forward to the Contender Championship. In the future, he would like to focus the offshore sailing competitions even more on popular sport, so that families and even more young athletes can take part.

Another highlight on the water is the dragon boat festival on the final weekend (13/14 July). Mario Herrmann, deputy chairman of the organizing SV Breitling, is expecting lots of fun and wild races on the water again this year, as well as a varied program on the southern Alter Strom. He is particularly excited about one new development: "We are setting up a marquee on the event site for our party, which used to always take place in Rostock. Hopefully, this will mean that as many of the 1.200 to 1.300 participants as possible can take part."

There will also be sport on the beach. On the opening weekend (6th/7th July) the beach handball players will fight for victory in the sand. "As always, the beach will be a beach handball cauldron. We are expecting 36 teams with a total of around 430 participants. When the finals start on Sunday at around 15 p.m., I would be delighted to see lots of spectators cheering on our teams. I will be presenting some of the games," announced Rainer Voß, Chairman of BHV Nord.

The pre-pandemic starting fields have not yet been reached again, but the number of starters continues to rise every year and younger players are moving up. After many years as organizer of the tournament, Voß himself wants to gradually slow down: "Our new beach handball manager Johann Müller will contribute his experience as a player and coach and liven up the event with new ideas."

The beach lacrosse tournament on the second weekend (13/14 July) also promises sporting action. In lacrosse, two teams play against each other and try to shoot a solid rubber ball into a goal with the help of a bat. It is an intense sport in which technical skill, endurance and speed count and many goals are scored, which makes it exciting for the teams and spectators alike. "The Warnemünder Woche offers us a good platform to make the sport better known. Our participating teams come from all over Germany," said Stefan Schröder, who founded the Beach Lax tournament in 2014 together with friends and also plays in it himself.

Finally, Mayor Eva-Maria Kröger had her say. When asked how she imagined the 100th anniversary of the city, she replied: Warnemünder Woche she replied: "Sports and cultural events are enriching for our city, so I would like to see further development of the offerings and, above all, stability. I also hope that our sailing area continues to be regarded as one of the best in the world and that the many hundreds of volunteers who put this event together will stay with us or find new members."