Shorts:Waterford is gearing up for Ireland's biggest quayside festival as the city once again hosts the start of the Tall Ships Race.
Up to 500,000 people are expected to join the fun from June 30th to July 3rd when live music, two colourful parades, a sumptuous food village, interactive craft village, fringe festival, markets and stalls take centre stage alongside 50 tall ships, most of which will be berthed in the heart of the city.
A dozen larger tall ships will mostly be berthed on the north side of the River Suir, across from the city centre. Ships will be open to visitors from 10am to 4pm (Thursday-Saturday), though this may vary from ship to ship.
The international fleet of Tall Ships, from 12 countries, will sail with more than 1,400 professional crew and trainees from Waterford to Greenock, Scotland. Later host ports for the Tall Ships Race are Lerwick, Shetland Isles; Stavanger, Norway and Halmstad, Sweden.