The newest Cunard Line luxury cruise ship, Queen Anne, has departed Liverpool after a day of celebrations that took place on Merseyside, marking the company's strong links with the city’s maritime heritage.
The City of Liverpool was announced as the godparent of Queen Anne in recognition of the long-lasting bond with their spiritual home of the English north-west city-port.
As the Echo reported, the momentous occasion of the naming ceremony involved a 12-litre bottle of champagne smashed against the hull of the 113,000-ton cruise ship, which was watched by large crowds along the famous waterfront.
Queen Anne, which cost £600 million, arrived in Liverpool's Pier Head yesterday morning ahead of the official naming ceremony in the afternoon, which took place close to the English north-west city’s iconic Three Graces, referring to historic buildings lining along the waterfront. Among these impressive buildings is the former Cunard Line office, which forms the central building.
During the ceremony, a sea of confetti rained down on spectators as the new-build Queen Anne was officially named, with the traditional smashing of the champagne bottle at the black-painted bow.
As part of the day of celebrations, several star performances took to the stage, especially erected beside the waterfront, where legendary Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli moved some members of the audience to tears with his ‘Time to Say Goodbye’.
The naming ceremony was hosted by former Busted musician Matt Willis and his wife Emma. Whereas proceedings in the evening saw entertainment, including a DJ set from Craig Charles, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
Crowds waited until 10.15 p.m. to see the 3,000-capacity Queen Anne depart from Liverpool against a spectacular backdrop of fireworks set up from the former Cunard building overlooking the waterfront.
To mark the occasion, Cunard Line, on behalf of Liverpool, selected five 'icons' to represent the city and officially name Queen Anne. The cruise ship’s five naming sponsors are Spice Girl Melanie C, broadcaster and community leader Ngunan Adamu, restaurant entrepreneur Natalie Haywood, Liverpool music and cultural legend Jayne Casey, and British Olympic heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thomson.
Cunard hosted the event on the banks of the Mersey because of the company’s historic transatlantic service and passenger shipping, which, in 1840, was established in Liverpool. In that timeframe, the company’s liners and cruise ships have attracted more than a million spectators to the region, first for the maiden call in 1990 of the iconic liner Queen Elizabeth II, but best known as the ‘QE2’.
More than a decade late in 2015, the company’s Three Queens (the liner Queen Mary 2 and cruise twins Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria) carried out a ‘royal rendezvous’ in front of the Cunard Building. This spectacle celebrated the 175th anniversary of the luxury cruise line.
More on the story here on Queen Anne, as the first cruise voyage since officially naming sees the ship underway today and bound for Cobh, with its 'Irish' debut tomorrow (5 June).
