The Hanse Sail in Rostock is the largest festival in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and one of the most important events for tall ships and traditional sailing vessels in the Baltic Sea region. Over 250 ships, brigs, barques, schooners and replicas of middle age trading ships were registered for the 15^th Hanse Sail.

The Hanse Sail has developed a good reputation, known as one of the most exciting maritime events throughout the Baltic Sea region. Every year, visitors from all over the world enjoy the excitement and flair on the river Warnow and the Baltic Sea.

Under the motto ‘Business meets Hanse Sail’, Rostock Business together with Invest in Germany invited over 200 representatives of different companies to Rostock from 12th – 14th August 2005 in order to promote Rostock as a location for business investment. Such an event was unprecedented in Germany. For the first time ever, Invest in Germany is focussing on the Baltic Sea region to bring investment into Germany. The two Federal Commissioners for Foreign Investment, Dr. Klaus Mangold and Dr. Jürgen Weber, were present at the event as well as decision makers from numerous companies. Among the guests present were Bernd Trötzer, Vice President of Airbus Deutschland, Dr. Hubertus von Grünberg, member of the Supervisory Board of Continental AG, Dr. Michael Zitzmann, Chairman of the Board of Citygroup, Gerhard Grünenwald, Managing Director of Goodyear Dunlop, the Minister of Economic Affairs for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Dr. Otto Ebnet, and the mayor of Rostock, Roland Methling. It was an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs to engage in dialogue with each other outside the sphere of their day-to-day business. The Hanseatic City of Rostock presented itself as a charming city with great potential for investment. The programme showcased the diversity of the region and its high quality of life – a region that has already convinced and excited numerous investors. The highlight of the event was a sailing trip on one of the largest traditional windjammers in the world – the SEDOV. The event was supported by a varied programme of activities including a reception on the AIDAcara, a flight in a bomber, a visit to the Caterpillar company, a tour of the seaport and the Warnemünde Cruise Centre as well as a tour of the city. The weekend was rounded out with the traditional “Sail Brunch” in Warnemünde on Sunday. The activities were supported by partners such as AIDA Cruises, FiReCo, Flughafen Rostock-Laage, Radisson SAS Rostock as well as the newly established companies adm and HanseNet.