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Manado is set to burst at the seams over the long weekend as the International Sail Bunaken 2009 maritime event kicks off in North Sulawesi, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Friday.

Ministry official Firmansyah said that all incoming flights and all of the hotels in Manado were fully booked, as domestic and international tourists flood into the city for what has been billed as the world’s largest maritime event of the 21st century.

Sail Bunaken, funded by the government to the tune of Rp 30 billion ($3 million), as part of attempts to establish Manado as an international tourist destination to rival the resort island of Bali, kicked off on Wednesday and ends on Thursday.

It features a fleet review involving more than 40 warships from Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, Philippines, England, Germany, Cambodia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Greece, Libya, South Africa, Morocco, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria and Syria.

In addition, the USS George Washington super carrier will participate, in addition to three tall ships and 165 yachts from almost 30 countries.

Other events include the Bunaken International Seafood Festival, an undersea photo contest, a flower festival and cultural performances.

Ministry of Communications and Information Technology spokesman Muslimin Kulle said that almost 2,000 divers from Indonesia and around the world would attempt to break the world record for a mass dive during Independence Day celebrations on Monday. The participants are expected to unfurl and salute a giant Indonesian flag beneath the sea.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will arrive in Manado on Wednesday to confirm that the event will be entered in the Guinness Book of Records.

Muslimin said the big event was planned to help establish Manado a world-class travel destination, in line with the central government’s efforts to create more attractions for foreign tourists.

“We want to have another international tourist site other than Bali, and Manado is a good one,” he said.

Sail Bunaken will also feature international seminars on illegal and unregulated fishing practices.

The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Ministry of Transportation, the Navy and the North Sulawesi provincial government.