On 4th July Cunard marked a landmark moment as Queen Mary 2, took centre stage in New York Harbour for Sail4th 250, the centrepiece of the United States’ 250th Independence Day celebrations.
Anchored in a prime position, Queen Mary 2 gave guests front-row views of one of the most significant Fourth of July celebrations, featuring the largest gathering of tall ships and naval vessels ever seen in New York City.
Events included the International Parade of Sail, with more than 100 vessels, including 47 tall ships from 20 nations, sailing from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge past the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge.
Guests also witnessed an International Naval Review, during which a Navy vessel formally acknowledged the anchored fleet of 37 U.S. and allied naval ships.
The celebrations continued with a military flypast led by the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels featuring more than 150 aircraft, including the Red Arrows, and a spectacular fireworks display lighting up the iconic
Manhattan skyline.
The occasion held special significance for Cunard, as 4th July marks the anniversary of the company’s very first crossing. On 4 July 1840, RMS Britannia, the line’s first ship, departed Liverpool for Boston, launching the world’s first regularly scheduled transatlantic steamship service, and forever transforming travel, trade and communication between Britain and the United States. That connection has never been broken, with Cunard ships crossing the Atlantic every year since.
Between 1840 and 1923, an estimated one in five immigrants arrived in North America aboard a Cunard ship, helping shape generations of American families and communities.
Cunard first sailed into New York Harbour in December 1847, when the wooden paddle steamer Hibernia arrived to crowds lining the waterfront. Since then, the luxury cruise line has celebrated several defining moments in New York City.
In 2008, three Cunard Queens - Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Victoria - came together in New York Harbour for a landmark rendezvous, which was repeated in 2011.