Tall ships come to Dublin

The Tall Ships Race arrives in Dublin on 23 August and motorists have been advised to avoid the city centre for the duration of the four day-celebration. The event is expected to entice up to a million people into town to view around 50 vessels docked along the north and south quays of the river Liffey.

The popular nautical festival was last in Dublin in 1998 and has since visited Belfast in Northern Ireland and Waterford in the south east. This year the race began in St Malo in northern France, before travelling south to Portuguese capital Lisbon and Cádiz in southern Spain.

A number of events are taking place in Dublin in parallel with the race; the highlights include a floating open air cinema screening Steven Spielberg's classic movie "Jaws", as well as 55 live music acts and over 100 street performers. Grand Canal Dock hosts a family zone while there is skateboarding and music at Hanover Quay and a photography exhibition at the CHQ building in the heart of the nearby International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

The event closes on 26 August with the Parade of Sail ceremony, and as ships depart, Ireland's principal charity youth group Foróige will attempt to break the world record for the number of people participating in a "Rock the Boat" dance. The movement involves a line of people sitting on the ground, waving their hands in time to the lyrics of a song. The current record is 1,600 people and Foróige's attempt takes place at 13.00 on Sir John Rogerson's Quay.

The race is presented by Polish port Szczecin and organised by youth charity organisation Sail Training International.