Head of the Charles this weekend – NBC Boston

It's sure to be a busy weekend in both Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the 59th Head of the Charles Regatta begins Friday morning.

You can watch a live stream of all the weekend's events here.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators will come to watch the racing over the three-day event. And given this weekend's beautiful, unseasonably warm weather, those numbers are expected to be even higher than normal.

Public transportation is recommended, but if driving, note that Memorial Drive is closed in both directions from Western Ave to Fresh Pond Parkway from 7:00 a.m. Saturday to 9:00 p.m. Sunday. And there will be lane restrictions on Soldiers Field Road throughout the weekend.

With more than 11,000 rowers and 2,400 volunteers, this will be a busy and exciting event.

Alex Dillon, who is training and rowing this weekend, said: “Just out of pride that the whole rowing world gets to come to Boston this weekend.”

Ciara O'Sullivan, assistant women's coach at Boston University, said: “We affectionately call Head of the Charles 'Rowing Christmas' because basically everyone comes home for it. There are athletes from junior to Olympic level and everyone in between.”

The talent is unmatched at the world's largest three-day regatta.

“We have what we believe will be over 300 Olympians competing over the course of the weekend. This includes Olympians from previous games from 1956. We are assuming that we will have 100 Olympians from Paris alone. So there’s a lot of rivalries out there,” said Charles General Manager Tori Stevens.

Max Kreutzelman, who will compete in the Cornell Men's Alumni boat on Sunday, said, “Two years ago I won the men's four, so it just means everything to me to come back here and compete in this event.”

But there is also talent right here in the hub, as the BU teams start from their own boathouse.

“That makes it exciting, but also helps to reduce the stress a little because we know the route,” said BU rower Finn Berkhout.

And all of these athletes say that for a sport typically surrounded by tranquility and nature, it's surreal to see spectators cheering them on from the shore to the bridges along the entire three-mile course.

“There is a lot of motivation, it's great to hear that kind of enthusiasm, yes, it's really special, it brings a kind of energy,” said coach and rower Vass Ragoussis.

There will be a variety of activities, music, food, drink and shopping along the three-mile route. And spectators can watch countless races, from youth to collegiate to elite and masters races.

“The largest regatta in the world on an incredibly challenging course, on the Charles River with seven bridges and curves. I think the course itself is part of the whole story, but when you talk to rowers from all over the world who take part in the regatta, you see that we have people from 10 to 92 years old, and that's really true Homecoming for the entire rowing community, and I think that’s what makes it so special,” said Charles Executive Director Tori Stevens.