Cunard to Celebrate 175th in Halifax
Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 will embark on the capstone of Cunard’s 175th worldwide anniversary celebrations with a commemorative transatlantic crossing departing from Liverpool, England, paying tribute to the original voyage made by the company’s first flagship, Britannia, on July 4, 1840.
This journey inaugurated the first scheduled mail and passenger service across the Atlantic and Cunard will be celebrating this historic milestone in three cities which hold a special place in the company’s storied past – Halifax, Boston and New York.
Queen Mary 2, Cunard’s reigning flagship, will depart Southampton on July 2 July, then call on Liverpool, the “spiritual home” of the company, amid fanfare and fireworks, and then sail onward to North America with celebratory on board and commemorative shoreside events scheduled for each port of call.
“Cunard is honoured to be one of the few companies who can claim a 175-year history, and to celebrate this milestone and our enduring relationships with these cornerstone cities means so much to us,” said Richard Meadows, president, Cunard, North America. “We look forward to honouring Sir Samuel Cunard in his birthplace of Halifax, to commemorate our heritage in Boston in what was the first American company headquarters, and to salute our US homeport, New York in a festive and fitting fashion.”
Halifax, the home of founder Sir Samuel Cunard, will be the first port to welcome Queen Mary 2 on July 10.
Cunard will mark the milestone occasion in a special outdoor ceremony, which will include local dignitaries, port officials and key members of the Halifax community. As a key component of the anniversary celebration ceremony, a public area of the future waterfront development will be named for Cunard.
The ceremony will take place on the grounds of an upcoming mixed use development created by Southwest Properties and Streamliner Properties in collaboration with the Waterfront Development Corporation. Rhapsody Quintet, who are also members of Symphony Nova Scotia will perform during the event.
Cunard has joined together with the Canadian Maritime Heritage Foundation and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic to create the first annual “Samuel Cunard Prize for Vision, Courage and Creativity,” which will be awarded to James D. Irving, Canadian industrialist. This inaugural prize event will take place every year aboard Queen Mary 2 and recognize a different recipient who exemplifies the world-changing vision, courage and creativity shown by Samuel Cunard throughout his life.
Further festivities will take place in Boston on July 12 and New York on July 14.
