VISITORS to the Tall Ships Races are being urged to take note of road closures during the five-day festival of sail.

From Wednesday until Saturday, Sunderland, which is the starting port for the international sailing event, will welcome up to 1.5 million visitors keen to see the 55 ships taking part and enjoy a packed schedule of music, theatre, circus and dance.

To make sure the festival goes without a hitch, Sunderland City Council is encouraging people to plan their journey in advance, with extra Metro services being put on.

On Thursday, a crew parade of sailors and young people from around the world will start at Burdon Road and make its way to St Peter’s Campus, resulting in the closures of Burdon Road and Park Road for the afternoon.

These closures will be rolled out along the parade route up to the Wearmouth Bridge from 2.30pm, taking in Fawcett Street, Bridge Street, Borough Road and streets connected to the route.

Roads will re-open as the parade passes.

One of the highlights of the festival will be a breath-taking world record attempt by three performers from Cirque Bijou, who will cross the River Wear on a high wire without a safety net, on Friday, at about 9pm. Wearmouth Bridge, St Mary’s and West Wear Street will be closed to vehicles for the performance, but will remain open for pedestrian access.

On Saturday, the A183 Roker Terrace/Whitburn Road will be closed from early morning until late at night between the Bungalow Café and Morrisons roundabout.

People travelling to Sunderland should use St Peter’s and Sunderland Metro stations, which are a short walk from the event zones where visiting ships will be berthed on both the north and south side of the river.

There are also six park and ride car parks.

The first ships arrived on Sunday, including class B vessel Wyvern, from Norway, class C vessel Tara, from Denmark and class D vessel Tuulelind, from Estonia.

Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “I would like to welcome everyone that comes to the city. I hope they all have a fantastic time, enjoy the tall ships and all the activities and the things that are going on around the tall ships.

“We are expecting at least 1.5 million people over the next few days. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us and the city will welcome all the visitors that come. We are all going to have a good time enjoying seeing the tall ships, seeing the activity around them and, if the weather plays fair, even get a suntan.”

The Mayor of Sunderland, Councillor Lynda Scanlan, said: “The Tall Ships Races are a fantastic opportunity for young people to use their experience at sea as a way of discovering their own strengths and talents and to find out what it means to work as part of a team.”

The Tall Ships Races Sunderland 2018 will be officially opened tomorrow at the National Glass Centre by the Mayor of Sunderland, Councillor Lynda Scanlan, immediately before The Princess Royal’s visit.