© Hamburg Cruise Days / Jan Schugardt
© Christian Spahrbier
© BCS Media
© BCS Media
© Christian Spahrbier
© Benjamin Siegel
© Hamburg Cruise Days / Jan Schugardt

Blue Port Hamburg

Magical lights by the water

With all the water that flows in and around Hamburg, one thing is clear: the colour blue belongs as much to Hamburg as the harbour or the Michel. But there is one week per year during which Hamburg appears especially blue. We’re talking about Blue Port Hamburg.

Every two years during the Hamburg Cruise Days, nocturnal Hamburg, including the harbour and some of its most beautiful landmarks, are bathed in a blue, almost magical light.

The Blue Port will take place from 12 to 14 September 2025.

A fascinating romantic art project

The renowned light artist Michael Batz, who installed blue arches of light in Hamburg for the Football World Cup 2006, is responsible for this. Since 2008, his “Blue Port Hamburg” art project shows the Hamburg Harbour in an ever different way; it tells stories and fascinates people. The light sources arise mainly from footpath lighting, public lighting or building lights that the artist allows to play together in an atmospheric manner.

The port of Hamburg shines in blue

With over 9,000 lighting elements, the port shimmers in blue after dusk and increasingly incorporates buildings and bridges in its spell. At the end, this makes it a unforgettable “gesamtkunstwerk” (meaning a special overall art installation in German) that inevitably entices visitors to nightly walks along the Elbe.

More on this subject

© ThisIsJulia Photography

Port of Hamburg & Environs

Europe's second largest port extends from the cruise terminal to the historic Speicherstadt and the Landungsbrücken to the modern container port.

Port of Hamburg & Environs
© ThisIsJulia Photography

CITY AREA PORTRAIT St. Pauli, the Harbour & the Reeperbahn

At Hamburg’s city coast, the Elbe and the harbour, you can just sit down and watch as ships, ferries and tugs pass by and enjoy the strong sea breeze. A few hundred meters away you can experience Hamburg’s world-famous “sinful mile” – the Reeperbahn.

St. Pauli, the Harbour & the Reeperbahn
© ThisIsJulia Photography

CITY AREA PORTRAIT St. Pauli, the Harbour & the Reeperbahn

At Hamburg’s city coast, the Elbe and the harbour, you can just sit down and watch as ships, ferries and tugs pass by and enjoy the strong sea breeze. A few hundred meters away you can experience Hamburg’s world-famous “sinful mile” – the Reeperbahn.

St. Pauli, the Harbour & the Reeperbahn

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© Ralph Larmann

Countdown starts for Europe's major cruise event: September 12. to 14, 2025 Hamburg Cruise Days

From 12 to 14 September 2025, Hamburg will once again be the stage for the world of cruising - with the Hamburg Cruise Days. The world's most beautiful cruise festival returns: with impressive ships, the atmospheric Blue Port Hamburg, and with spectacular event highlights such as the parade on Saturday evening. Hamburg Tourismus has the right package deal for the maritime experience.

Hamburg Cruise Days
© Jonas Wök

Literature and Culture at the Port of Hamburg Harbour Front Literaturfestival

Against the backdrop of harbour cranes and overseas containers, the Harbour Front Literature Festival will once again bring together great German and international literature, creating a wholesale market of knowledge, news and cultural exchange.

Harbour Front Literaturfestival
© Unsplash / Erik Witsoe

Film culture in Hamburg's cinemas Hamburg Film Festival

Filmfest Hamburg will be celebrating its 32nd anniversary in 2024. Every year in the fall, it delights countless cinema fans over ten days on ten screens with around 70 national and international feature films and documentaries as world premieres, European premieres or German premieres.

Hamburg Film Festival

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