Kieler Woche premiere in the Sailing Grand Slam

The top management of the state capital of Kiel with President of the City Council Bettina Aust and Mayor Ulf Kämpfer (left) presented the Kieler Woche 2025 poster at the end of Kiel Treff together with Head of Organization of Kieler Woche Regatta © Kieler Woche

This year, Kieler Woche will be dominated by the Sailing Grand Slam, the new joint platform for the five most prestigious sailing regattas in the world.

In addition to the ten Olympic disciplines, twelve international boat classes, including the ILCA 6 Men's World Championship and the German Sailing Championship, will be hosted from 21 to 29 June. At the Kiel Treff of the international water sports trade fair boot in Düsseldorf on Monday (20 January), not only the sailing program was presented. The top management of Kiel.Sailing.City also reaffirmed its claim and willingness to support and enrich a German Olympic bid for 2036 or 2040 as a location for sailing competitions as well as coastal rowing and open water swimming, in line with the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

The innovation and tradition surrounding Kieler Woche also inspires boot Düsseldorf as an established premium partner. "Our new motto 'We love water' expresses the positive awakening of the entire maritime community and the attitude to life of all water sports enthusiasts, which we will also be presenting at Kieler Woche," said Marius Berlemann, looking five months ahead. The new Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf announced a stylish boot.club lounge in Schilksee, where active people will enjoy meeting up and chilling out.

With its commitment, which also includes Meeno Schrader's professional wind and weather forecasts, boot contributes significantly to the feel-good factor of the international sailors on land. "The Sailing Grand Slam also promises Olympic sport at the very highest level, which we will do justice to with optimized competition conditions," said Kieler Woche Head of Organization Dirk Ramhorst in front of a broadly decorated crowd. A separate event area will be created for the foil board classes iQFOiL (surfing) and Formula Kite on the eastern shore of the Kiel Fjord opposite Schilksee Olympic Sailing Center.

The allocation is already setting an example for possible Olympic sailing competitions in the future. "Kiel's experience with sustainable major events and the reliable planning area make it the best possible location," explained President of City Council Bettina Aust and Mayor of Kiel Ulf Kämpfer with the backing of the state government and the state parliament, who have committed themselves to Kiel across the board.

In year one after Paris and Marseille, the focus of the athletes is already on the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles/USA. "Kieler Woche as a Grand Slam will be a highlight of the season for everyone every year," says 49er hopeful Johann Sach from Zarnekau in eastern Holstein, who wants to qualify for L.A. with his brother Anton. In addition to Kieler Woche, the best also have the Grand Slams in Palma de Mallorca/Spain and Hyères/France on their calendar. This will be followed by SGS regattas in July in Long Beach on the Olympic course and in September in Almere/Netherlands.

In addition to eight of ten Olympic classifications, the first part of Kieler Woche will feature the men's world championship in the ILCA 6 dinghy and the Eurocup for the 29ers. The German Sailing Championship, starting with the traditional Aalregatta on Saturday morning, will run throughout the entire period. Last year's winner Jens Kuphal from Berlin wants to defend his title with an XR 41 from the Danish shipyard X-Yachts, which celebrated its world premiere at boot. "We are curious to see the potential, even in a top international comparison," says the skipper and helmsman, looking forward to the boat and Kieler Woche.

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