Next year is a landmark year for the United States, marking the 250th year since the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. Baltimore is pulling out all the stops to celebrate this anniversary, with a fleet of international ships and Blue Angels pilots descending on the city next summer.
SAIL250 Maryland & Air Show Baltimore, part of the five-city SAIL250 initiative that aims to celebrate the country’s maritime history, will take place from June 24 to July 1, 2026. Building upon the foundation of popular festivals like Fleet Week, the free, family-friendly event will feature smaller community festivals in locales like the Inner Harbor and Fells Point, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and history-based educational activities and flyovers and flight demonstrations from the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Team, The Blue Angels.
Baltimore is only one of the stops that the SAIL250 flotilla will be making on their trip around the East Coast. They will be starting in New Orleans and traveling to Norfolk, and after Baltimore, they will head for New York City and Boston.
“Only a handful of cities in the country are hosting this, and we’re honored to be one of them,” said Elizabeth Koontz, Baltimore’s assistant deputy mayor, at a news conference announcing the event on Tuesday, June 24. Koontz spoke on behalf of Mayor Brandon Scott, who was unable to attend the event. “It’s a great day when we celebrate Baltimore’s greatest natural asset, our waterfront, and the role it plays in connecting us to history, culture and to each other.”
The event serves as not only a celebration of the U.S. Navy and the country’s maritime history, but its relationships with other countries. In addition to ships from the Navy and the United States Coast Guard, ships from the United Kingdom, Canada, Peru, Germany, Indonesia and more will be making an appearance as part of the flotilla.
While this event is part of a national series, it required a great deal of collaboration with local organizations to plan.
“This is, in many ways, a regional event,” said Chris Rowsom, director of SAIL250 Maryland & Air Show Baltimore. “We work with Baltimore County and Baltimore City … Over the past 12 months, we’ve been going down to Washington and meeting with naval attaches and the U.S. Coast Guard.”
Living Classrooms Foundation, which operates historic ships in the Inner Harbor such as the USS Constellation, will also be contributing to SAIL250 by offering educational programs such as living history exhibits.
The event is expected to bring many tourists to the Baltimore area, creating an economic boost for local businesses.
“Past events like Maryland Fleet Week and Flyover Baltimore in 2024 drew more than 150,000 visitors to the Baltimore area and had a total economic impact of $63 million,” said Maryland Secretary of Commerce Harry Coker, Jr. “SAIL250 is going to have an even greater number of ships here. It’ll be a wonderful showcase for many of the neighborhoods in the city, from the Inner Harbor to Fells Point, Locust Point and Baltimore Peninsula.”
Locals and tourists alike can stay updated on SAIL250 and its planned schedule by downloading the Maryland Fleet Week app, which will be rebranded as the SAIL250 Maryland & Air Show Baltimore App for the event.
