Held every five years, SAIL Amsterdam is the largest free public event in the world.
Come and see dozens of tall ships, marine ships, and a flotilla of hundreds of other maritime history vessels during SAIL Amsterdam 2025.
Wait! What? What happened to SAIL Amsterdam 2020? The event was cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis.
The river IJ is the lifeblood of Amsterdam. It allowed traders to grow a small settlement in the delta of the river Amstel into a world-renowned trading city that brought about Holland’s Golden Age.
Today the river connects the Port of Amsterdam — and the North Sea beyond — with the rest of the continent.
Over the past few decades shipyards and other industrial business have closed or moved further west, giving way to a countless exciting developments and projects along the banks of the river.
Free ferries, parks, cultural hot spots, harbor cruises, and a constant parade of ships — from dinghies and sail yachts to cargo vessels and cruise ships — make the IJ a must-see attraction in Amsterdam.
Once in every five years Amsterdam harbor — one of Europe’s busiest ports — become the backdrop for one of the largest maritime manifestations in the world: SAIL
For five days, from August 19th through August 23rd, the whole IJ (pronounced as: Ay) harbor behind Amsterdam’s Central Station will be filled with music, culture and some 600 boats, including many historic vessels and a huge number of impressive tall ships from all over the world.