Volvo Ocean Race to visit CT
2008-01-15 13:30
Cape Town - Cape Town has once again been named to host a stopover for the 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race. This will be the ninth time the race has stopped in Cape Town.
This will be formally announced by the Volvo Ocean Race when the race route is unveiled at the London Boat Show on Tuesday.
In 2005-2006, the cumulative media audience was 1.8 billion, with 2 000 accredited media covering the race and three million visitors to race stopover ports.
In major event terms, this ranks the race alongside Formula One, the America's Cup and Commonwealth Games.
The race starts in Alicante in Spain in October and finishes in St Petersburg in May 2009 covering 31 000 nautical miles and stopping at 10 other ports.
The new route encompasses the world's leading economic centres including India, Singapore, China, Ireland and Russia.
For Cape Town, the race will deliver significant international television exposure through dedicated race finish and start coverage, media coverage from the official websites, and economic impact from international visitors and sponsor hospitality estimated at R350m including 30 000 bed nights.
"We are delighted to be able to welcome the Volvo Ocean Race back to Cape Town and the Western Cape," says Calvyn Gilfellan, Acting Chief Executive of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the official tourism destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape.
"With television coverage of the race reaching over 500 million viewers in 192 countries, the event is very powerful in helping us to showcase the incredible splendour of our city and province, and draw more and more tourists here. The event also showcases the Western Cape's vibrant and internationally renowned boat-building industry, which represents roughly three quarters of the industry in South Africa."
A local organising committee has been formed including key government, sporting association and private sector role players.
Bruce Parker-Forsyth, CEO of the Cape Town Volvo Ocean Race stopover, said, "The Volvo Ocean Race is not only the world championship of ocean racing but has also enhanced into a business and tourism communication platform. For this reason we are hard at work to make sure that we not only stage the best stopover but maximize the economic, social and destination marketing opportunities for Cape Town."
As a major event in the run up to the 2010 World Cup, Mr Gert Bam of the City of Cape Town said, "The event provides us with an opportunity to increase our skills and test our systems, such as volunteers, for Cape Town 2010 preparations. It is also very important in promoting our boat building industry that is internationally competitive and supports many macro industries in the Western Cape small business sector."