Recap: Annual Meeting of the German Friends of LSE in Hamburg from 25–27 September 2026
Around 40 alumnae, alumni and friends joined us in Hamburg for this year’s Annual Meeting. With blue skies and mild late-September weather throughout the weekend, the conditions were ideal for exploring the city and its harbour.
As one of Germany’s great port cities and a historic centre of international trade, Hamburg provided the setting for a weekend combining maritime history, urban development, exchange and networking. The programme took participants from the historic Speicherstadt to the port and from St. Pauli to the banks of the Elbe.
The weekend began on Friday evening with dinner on board the Feuerschiff, a former lightship moored in Hamburg harbour. Afterwards, participants visited Miniatur Wunderland, the world’s largest model railway exhibition and one of Hamburg’s best-known attractions.
On Saturday morning, the programme started with a guided tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Speicherstadt. Beginning at the Speicherstadtmuseum, the tour explored the history of the warehouse district and its importance to Hamburg’s development as an international trading centre.
From there, the group travelled by Maritime Circle Line through the harbour to the Deutsches Hafenmuseum and the PEKING. Built in 1911 for the Hamburg shipping company F. Laeisz, the PEKING is one of the last surviving Flying P-Liners and an impressive reminder of Hamburg’s maritime trading history and the shipping routes that once connected Europe with South America.
The day concluded with a reception and dinner at the restaurant am kai, overlooking the Elbe. We were delighted to welcome Dr Holger Schmieding, Chief Economist at Berenberg and LSE alumnus, as our dinner speaker. In his talk, “Coping with disruption: Outlook for Politics and the Economy in Germany, Europe and the United States,” he addressed a range of current political and economic challenges and closed each thematic section on a constructive and optimistic note. His remarks were followed by a lively exchange with participants.
On Sunday, the Annual Meeting concluded with the guided “St. Pauli Grenzgang”. Our guide gave us an authentic insight into the history, social fabric and current challenges of the district, and the tour was both informative and entertaining. The weekend ended with lunch and networking at Zwick St. Pauli.
Many thanks to everyone who joined us in Hamburg and contributed to a weekend of exchange, conversation and connection within the LSE community. We were very pleased with the positive feedback we received from participants throughout the weekend.
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