27 June 2017
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Cork City has been chosen to host European Maritime Day (EMD) in 2020.
This is the first time that Ireland has been selected by the Council of the European Union to hold this flagship two-day conference which since its creation has become one of the key events in the maritime community’s year.
European Maritime Day 2020 will also coincide with the 300 year anniversary of the Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC), one of the oldest yacht clubs in the world.
Lord Mayor Tony Fitzgerald
The newly appointed Lord Mayor, Cllr Tony Fitzgerald (Fianna Fail) said: “To have been chosen to host European Maritime Day 2020 is a huge achievement for Cork. It is an international endorsement of the second city’s rich maritime heritage and the ongoing success of our port”.
Chief Executive, Ann Doherty said: “Cork City Council is looking forward to hold European Maritime Day 2020. Our hosting of this prestigious European event underlines Cork’s stellar reputation for research and development and its strategic potential as the second largest natural harbour in the world”.
Up to 1,000 different delegates including industry professionals, policy makers , researchers, academics and NGOs take part in the annual EMD two-day conference where they attend political sessions and workshops to discuss challenges and opportunities in the maritime sector including the blue economy, ocean energy and ongoing development potential in areas such as aquaculture and cruise shipping.
The national maritime Festival, SeaFest will also take place in Cork in 2020 in conjunction with EMD. SeaFest is a fun, free festival aimed at getting people the people of Cork and Ireland to celebrate and enjoy our ocean with seafaring fun, seafood demonstrations and lots of opportunities to hop into boats and leisure craft and ride the waves. Up to 60,0000 attended SeaFest in Galway in July last year.
