Fjordsteam is pleased to invite you to the festivities in downtown Bergen on August 2-5, 2018, when dozens of antique fjord boats and ships arrive in the city harbour to display their historic glory. Fjordsteam will open with a steam whistle concert played on the whistles of the different ships docked in the city harbour. The same ships will be open and free for the public to visit. There will be demonstrations by the Bergen Fire Department's Historical Society, exhibitions of antique fire trucks and wagons, machines, steam tractors, parades and lectures and much more. Lunch voyages on antique ships are also a part of the program, where guests can enjoy great food and great views of the city from the harbour. Antique ships will arrive in the city harbour from neighboring communities like Fedje, Austevoll, Haugesund, Austrheim and Vaksdal, among others, and will pick up passengers on their way to Bergen. The Bergen Fire Deptartment Band will play, and local choirs will perform sea shanties. Norway has one of the biggest and most well-preserved fleets of antique ships and veteran fjord boats in the world. For this reason, the work to safeguard and maintain this fleet is a main priority of the Fjordsteam festival. This will be Fjordsteam's second outing in Bergen, the first edition being held in 2013. The festival was formerly known as Nordsteam and was held in Bergen in 2000 and 2005. In 2010 and 2015, the festival was held in Florø, and in 2012 in Stavanger. As the festivities return to Bergen, it is with a focus on Bergen's position as a hub for smaller local communities along the coast, and ocean routes to the rest of the world. The festival has previously drawn crowds of over 10,000 visitors and 2018 is shaping up to be another exciting and important celebration of western Norwegian coastal culture. The event is sponsored by Hordaland County and The City of Bergen, among others.