Final Preps Underway For Star Spangled Spectacular
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- This time next weekend, there will be more than 1 million people in Baltimore. It's the Star Spangled Spectacular--an event marking the 200th anniversary of the National Anthem.
Gigi Barnett explains one of the highlights will be the tall ships coming in from as far as Turkey and Germany.
Baltimore's USS Constellation won't sit alone in the Inner Harbor next week. Tall ships from around the world are en route, a highlight to the city's Star Spangled Spectacular, marking the anniversary of the National Anthem.
"You'll have schooners, full rig ships, privateers," said Mike McGeady, Sail Baltimore president.
Mike McGeady heads up Sail Baltimore. It's the non-profit group that's bringing the tall ships to town. He says it's the history of these ships that make them so attractive to the thousands of visitors expected.
"The event itself is the number one bus tour event in the entire United States," he said. "A lot of it has to do with our history, how we got here in the first place, and what made Baltimore a city at the beginning."
At least 30 tall ships will visit Baltimore. They'll line the west wall of the Inner Harbor promenade. They're coming from as far away as the United Kingdom, Spain and Norway.
"They had that tall ship thing a couple of years ago and it was terrific," said Baltimore resident Ted Wiese.
Indeed it was. And again this year, visitors will be able to tour some of the tall ships at the Inner Harbor, where the War of 1812 took a turn in the Americans' favor.
"It is our history," Wiese said. "And I think it's great for the city to come out and celebrate it. That's what this Inner Harbor is about."
The first of the tall ships start arriving in Baltimore on Wednesday.
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