AIDA Cruises will support the construction of five new schools following a charity concert that concluded the cruise line’s 30th-anniversary celebrations.

The AIDA & Friends concert was held at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie on October 28, featuring German artists Mark Forster, LEA and Revolverheld.

During the event, AIDA President Felix Eichhorn and Reiner Meutsch, founder of the FLY & HELP Foundation, announced that the concert would generate enough support for five additional schools.

Revenue from ticket sales will finance two schools. Mark Forster, LEA and Revolverheld will each support one additional school, bringing the total to five. The Elbphilharmonie said €30 from every ticket sold was directed to the charitable initiative. 

The schools will be developed through AIDA Cruise & Help, an initiative established in 2019 to improve access to education. Its projects focus particularly on countries where AIDA crew members come from and communities visited by the company’s ships.

That connection gives the program particular importance for the crew. Cruise ships depend on employees from countries where access to educational infrastructure can vary considerably, especially in rural communities.

Since the initiative began, AIDA guests, crew members and business partners have helped finance more than 100 school projects. According to the company, these projects have created more than 16,500 places for children. 

The FLY & HELP Foundation is AIDA’s long-term implementation partner, helping turn fundraising commitments into completed school buildings.

The Hamburg concert marked the conclusion of a year of anniversary events held aboard AIDA’s 11 ships and ashore. Instead of ending the celebrations with entertainment alone, the company connected the milestone to an initiative intended to create a longer-lasting impact.

For AIDA’s international crew, the five new schools also represent a direct link between life aboard the company’s ships and communities ashore.