IN WHAT is proving to be a celebratory year already for Southampton’s association with the cruise industry, this weekend sees another red letter occasion.
Cunard will begin its celebrations to mark the company’s 175th anniversary with a party that will include no fewer than three queens. The company was founded in Liverpool, yet has chosen its more recent home, where it has been headquartered for the past 49 years, to launch what will be celebrations taking place on both sides of the Atlantic. And this matters.
The world’s eyes will turn once again to Southampton as images of the QM2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth together in the Hampshire port are carried across the globe.
The celebrations have already begun, with a free Cunard exhibition of artwork and classic photographs in the City Art Gallery.
These are heady times. And Southampton and the region can be rightly proud to host such amazing ships and equally stupendous events.
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