Cape Town has been named as one of the Host Ports for the 2014/15 Volvo Ocean Race.
It will be the 10th time that the city hosts the race, which offers another opportunity to show off our breathtaking coastline and promote the Mother City.
“Not only does this race offer worldwide marketing exposure for Cape Town and raise its profile as a top leisure and events destination, it also provides a valuable boost for the many local industries through visitor and organiser spend,” says Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events and Marketing Grant Pascoe.
“The Volvo Ocean Race holds enormous benefits for the City and its residents. The
direct economic impact through visitor and organiser spend is estimated at over R300 million,” he says.
Currently in its 40th year, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s premier offshore event and the longest and toughest race in professional sport.
It attracts the best professional sailors, sailing the most technically advanced racing machines in the world, through the most hostile oceans on the planet.
“Some 30 000 tourists linked to the race stayed in Cape Town during the last stopover in 2011/12. To add to that, the destination secured worldwide media exposure valued at nearly R80 million,” says Cllr Pascoe.
The 2014 race will do more than just promote Cape Town as a tourist destination. Sailing development programmes, that will include schoolchildren and disadvantaged youth, are being planned and will run in tandem with the Cape Town stopover.
“The City of Cape Town’s decision to financially support the Volvo Ocean Race was based on the City’s recently approved revised Events Policy, which recognises the role that events play
in promoting economic growth in a modern city.
“The City believes that hosting an event like the Volvo Ocean Race is vital for growth and economic development. It also speaks to the key pillars of the City’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP), which includes building an opportunity city,” he says.
The race route for the 2014/15 event will see teams leave Alicante, Spain in October 2014, head south some 6 500 nautical miles to Cape Town, stop in Abu Dhabi, China, New Zealand and more cities, and finally finish in Gothenburg, Sweden.
