This year's Ostend at Anchor festival is all about “Caring for the Sea”. The largest maritime festival on the North Sea brings heritage, craftsmanship and innovation to Ostend for four consecutive days. According to the organisers, it is also an ideal moment to discuss the problems in and on the sea. ‘We love it, we swim in it, we eat from it, but we also need to care for the sea. And that has become the theme for this year’s edition,’ says curator Wim Opbrouck.
With more than 150,000 visitors annually, Ostend at Anchor is the largest maritime festival on the coast and traditionally takes place during the last weekend of May. For four days, you can visit ships in the port of Ostend free of charge, browse dozens of stands and even book a trip at sea.
The big attraction this year? The stately three-master Le Français. The ship is 47 metres long and was built in 1948. In the 1960s, it was used for herring fishing off the Faroes (Kingdom of Denmark), after which it served as a backdrop in numerous television and film productions, including the Three Musketeers, Shackleton and David Copperfield.
Ostend at Anchor is also a place where craftsmen show what they do. They share their knowledge during the many workshops and lectures. This year, for example, you can find out how workers and technicians protect themselves while working on the wind turbines off the Flemish coast.
The festival is now collaborating with curator Wim Opbrouck. ‘As everyone knows, a good dose of seawater flows through my veins, and the closer I am to the sea, the faster it flows. I see its beauty, hear its heartbeat, feel its enchantment and smell its adventure,’ says Opbrouck.
‘Caring for the Sea’
‘But I am still concerned, about its current mental and physical well-being, about its future and that of its inhabitants,’ Opbrouck continues. Together, this year we decided to focus on how we treat the sea.
‘It is an ideal moment to organise discussions and debates about issues in and on the sea,’ says Opbrouck. ‘We love it, we swim in it, we eat from it, but we also need to care for the sea. And that has become the theme for this edition: caring for the sea.’
The programme includes a debate on the search for solutions and sustainable recovery measures for the North Sea, as well as a debate on plastic pollution with charity Proper Strandlopers (Clean Beachcombers) and fishermen.
An important partner for this year’s edition is the Marine Environment Department of the Health and Environment Ministry. At cultural centre De Grote Post it is organising a day-long event on nature restoration in the Belgian North Sea.
Ostend at Anchor 2026 will take place from Thursday 28 May to Sunday 31 May. The full programme and more information will soon be available on the Ostend at Anchor website .