German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will be this year's guests of honour at the traditional Matthiae-Mahl banquet in Hamburg City Hall.
The two leaders are to address around 400 representatives from politics, business, science and culture as well as the entire consular corps next Tuesday, Hamburg's Senate announced on Thursday.
The Matthiae-Mahl has been historically documented since 1356, making it the oldest banquet still celebrated in the world.
Kallas, who has governed Estonia since 2021, is also resolutely committed to European values in the face of Russia's war against Ukraine, the Senate said. Her visit is intended to deepen Hamburg's relations with Estonia.
Russia placed Kallas and other high-ranking politicians from the Baltic states on a wanted list at the beginning of the week. The Russian authorities accuse them of demolishing Soviet war memorials.
Last year, NATO's supreme commander in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, and the secretary general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Helga Maria Schmid, were guests of honour at the town hall. The Ukraine war, launched by Russia in 2022, was also at the centre of the banquet back then.
