In 1814, a lawyer named Francis Scott Key was inspired to write a poem he called Defense of Fort McHenry, after watching the fort, and the citizens of Baltimore, stand against a ceaseless attack by the powerful British navy.
The poem later became the Star Spangled Banner and the United States’ National Anthem.
According to Bill Pencek, executive director of the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, there will be hundreds of events and activities across the city Sept. 10-16.
The national launch of the bicentennial period took place in June 2012, and this year's Star Spangled Spectacular (www.starspangled200.com) celebration will have many similarities with that year’s Star Spangled Sailabration, which brought in more than 1.5 million visitors and generated more than $166 million in economic impact regionally.
“We are hoping to exceed those visitation numbers,” Pencek says, which would make the 2014 Star Spangled Spectacular the largest event in Baltimore’s history. He adds that more than a third of the visitors in 2012 came from out of state.
Baltimore’s harbors will be filled with 40 vessels from ten nations, including gray hulls and historic tall ships, while the Blue Angels soar overhead and festival villages bustle with food and entertainment.
On Saturday night, the most “eye-popping” elements of the festivities will take place.
“On Saturday it will be 200 years to the day since the British bombarded Fort McHenry for more than 24 hours, inspiring Key to write the Star Spangled Banner,” Pencek says.
Dick Clark Productions will be hosting a nationally broadcast concert for ticketholders on Pier 6, along with simultaneous concert open to the public at Fort McHenry, where choirs will lead the nation in singing the national anthem at the “magic moment” as the American flag is raised over the fort and light up the Chesapeake Bay. Fort McHenry has a maximum capacity of about 25,000 people, but thousands more will watch via jumbotrons lining the harbor’s promenade.
“Historians consider that day a turning point in our nation’s history,” Pencek says. “Baltimore citizens and volunteers banded together to defend the city, and this event is a time for American to reflect on the meaning of these symbols.” Star Spangled Spectacular will also highlight Baltimore as a diverse and energetic destination for groups and visitors
The flag that flew over Fort McHenry that day is on display in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. and is seen by millions of visitors each year. The Museum offers special event spaces accommodating up to 2,200 reception guests.
