Today the city of Vigo located in Galicia in western Spain was announced as the start port of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-6.
A year ago this region was ravaged by Europe's worst oil disaster, now it will be landing the start of the world's premiere Ocean yacht race.
Since the first Volvo Ocean Race finished last year several cities and countries around Europe have shown serious interest in hosting the event. After several months of meetings and evaluation the choice was obvious to the Volvo Ocean Race organisation.
By having the start in Vigo the sailing fleet will be challenged immediately by racing straight out into the Atlantic Ocean, which will provide an exciting first leg.
Glenn Bourke, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race said, "The case made to us by the Galician Government was so strong and persuasive that we had no hesitation in bringing our event to the region and we look forward to them providing a fantastic start to the event".
To compliment the launch of Vigo as host to the Volvo Ocean Race, a Spanish entry to the race has been announced with the financial backing of Spanish Telecoms giant Telefónica, with additional funding from the Galician Government.
There is a great interest in the next Volvo Ocean Race. The race organisation, based in Southampton, has already 30 registered syndicates.
Glenn Bourke: "The interest for the next race has been really strong with syndicates emerging from a greater diversity of countries than we had in the last event. Many of these reflect the stopover countries so it will be great for the public to come and see their teams racing in home waters".
The Volvo Ocean Race is a round the world yacht race featuring 9 offshore racing legs. It starts on the 12th of November 2005. Included in the 2005-6 event will be an inshore race at each of the stopover ports. Moreover, the Volvo Open 70, a new and faster boat with a modern design has been announced.
Volvo Ocean Race 2001-2 achieved a cumulative audience of over 800 million viewers ranking it among the top international sporting events in the world.
For further information please contact:
Lizzie Green, Press Officer, Lizzie.Green@volvooceanrace.org
Phone: +44 1489 554832
Or check http://www.volvooceanrace.org
Volvo Ocean Race Images
For current images of the Volvo Ocean Race, please access our image archive by going to http://media.vemuk.com Images are available royalty-free for editorial use.
Patrick Anderson, Picture Desk
E-mail: Patrick.Anderson@volvooceanrace.org
Tel: +44 1489 554 867
Christer Gustafsson, Volvo Car Corporation
E-mail: cgustaf4@volvocars.com
Tel: +46 31 596525
Mårten Wikforss, AB Volvo
E-mail: marten.wikforss@volvo.com
Tel: +46 31 661127
