Kieler Woche premium partners boost the top regatta program for 2026
by Kieler Woche 20 Jan 14:25 PST
20-28 June 2026
At end of Kiel-Treff, KYC Chairman Hauke Berndt (right) and Kiel's Lord Mayor Ulf Kämpfer (second from left) presented the official Kieler Woche 2026 poster to Trade Fair Managing Director Marius Berlemann and Düsseldorf City Director Burkhard Hintzsche © Christian Beeck / Kieler Woche
Kieler Woche connects, according to the motto of the 2026 sailing and summer festival, both on the regatta courses off Schilksee and at the event venues on land.
Six months before the starting signal (June 20 to 28), the traditional Kiel-Treff during boot in Düsseldorf also focused on the solidarity of the partners. After the international water sports trade fair extended its long-standing premium partnership by three years, the WELLER car dealership group is also continuing its partnership this year. DENZA is a new premium brand coming on board. This is boosting the top regatta program: after competitions in eight Olympic disciplines of the Sailing Grand Slam, twelve international boat classes will compete including the Flying Dutchman (FD) World Championship and the new Viking Challenge, as well as two international German championships in offshore sailing.
In terms of sport, the Olympic classes will once again form a single unit in the first half of Kieler Woche. All their final medal races will take place on Wednesday. "The trio of organizers from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) Hamburg, the Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee (VSaW) Berlin and the Kiel Yacht-Club (KYC), who together provide the race management and support teams, felt it was important to have a clear structure for the competitions," said KYC chairman Hauke Berndt. He also explained the decision to concentrate all competitions in Schilksee, even though the area on the eastern shore of the fjord off Stein had proven itself. Berndt: "The athletes in iQFOil and wing foiling told us that the communal Kieler Woche feeling had not yet emerged there." However, this would require considerable investment, which would not be easy to manage.
Regardless of this, Dirk Ramhorst, head of regatta organization, expresses his gratitude for the immense support from the business community. "The loyalty of Düsseldorf boat show has been an important pillar for us for more than 30 years, and the renewed partnership with the WELLER Group strengthens Kieler Woche, which also benefits the active participants." This is because the trailer service will be resumed. Pool cars will pull the boat trailers from the parking lots to the harbor apron, significantly improving the logistics process once again. REWE and the German TV Lottery remain among the premium partners.
After an extremely successful start to the world's largest water sports exhibition, trade fair managing director Marius Berlemann drew a parallel between the Rhine and the Kiel Fjord: "You are the ideal summer complement and counterpart to us. The unique atmosphere in Schilksee with participants and guests from well over 50 nations, coupled with the blue boot look not only in our lounge - two global players that fit together perfectly."
"As the WELLER car dealership group, we have always felt a close connection to sailing and wholeheartedly support regatta racing," said Burghard Weller, managing partner of WELLER Holding SE & Co. KG, emphasizing the continuation of the sponsorship. He had previously made a spontaneous donation of three new Optimists for the KYC youth division. Weller continued: "We are very pleased to be back again this year as a premium partner of Kieler Woche."
Klaus Hartmann, Regional Commercial Director of DENZA, agreed: "We are looking forward to a great Kiel Week 2026 and are proud to be able to present DENZA, our new premium brand from BYD, to visitors and sailors from all over the world. The world's largest sailing event is the perfect stage for DENZA to attract visitors to our fascinating cars and increase brand awareness at the same time."
Kiel's lord mayor, Ulf Kämpfer, drew parallels between Kieler Woche and the Olympic Games, for whose sailing competitions and other disciplines the capital of Schleswig-Holstein is bidding to host from 2036 onwards. "We create spaces for encounters between locals and guests, sport and culture, water and land. Kieler Woche stands for openness and cohesion, connecting people just as the Olympics would. Kämpfer said he had no doubt that the referendum on April 19 would receive broad support from the population.
Just in time for the Kiel-Treff at boot, the Notice of Race for Kieler Woche was published, and the registration portal (Manage2Sail) was activated. The athletes are already very excited. "We expect 60 to 80 boats for the world championship," estimates Meike Greten, president of the international Flying Dutchman class association. She herself will be competing with her husband and crew Tom, as will defending champions Kilian König and Johannes Brack, all from Hanover. But Rostock greats Jörn and Bodo Borowski, as well as co-favorites and former world champions Kay-Uwe Lüdtke and Kai Schäfers (Berlin/Hanover), are also already in the starting blocks.
Torsten Bastiansen and his "Sydbank" crew are also defending their title at the International German Inshore Championship in sea sailing. The Flensburg native also wants to win the premiere of the Viking Challenge, a new German-Scandinavian regatta series. This includes the "Marstrand Big Boat Race" in Sweden in May and the "Blue Week" in Middelfart, Denmark, at the end of August. "Short races with professional scoring at all three locations can liven up the scene," believes Bastiansen, for whom this will be the highlight of the season instead of the European Championships in Estonia. "If this also gets the Scandinavians excited about Kieler Woche, then offshore sailing will have won."
At the end of the Kiel meeting, Hauke Berndt and Ulf Kämpfer presented the official Kieler Woche 2026 poster to Marius Berlemann and Düsseldorf's city director Burkhard Hintzsche. The ink on the three-year partnership agreement extension had long since dried.
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