AIDA Cruises said 45,000 people flocked to the Kiel waterfront on Saturday evening for a free concert featuring Kim Wilde, OMD and John Miles that led up to the naming of AIDAsol by godmother Bettina Zwickler.
Chosen by the public from an initial field of 1,523 applicants, Zwickler, a captain’s daughter and former travel agent from Kiel, was accompanied on the stage by AIDA president Michael Thamm.
‘You beautiful ship! Wherever your travels take you, your sunny smile will make people happy,’ Zwickler said in naming AIDAsol. (“Sol’ means sun.)
A huge fireworks display capped the festivities.
Kiel Mayor Thorsten Albig called the event ‘a great night for a beautiful ship.’
Immediately after the ceremony, AIDAsol cast off for a voyage to Copenhagen, Oslo, London, Paris and Amsterdam to Hamburg.
http://www.seatrade-insider.com/News/News-Headlines/AIDAsol-is-christened-in-Kiel.html