Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s leading offshore yacht competition. The sailing event takes 9 months to complete. The 2017-2018 ocean race, began at Alicante in Spain on 22 October 2017, passes through Gothenburg in Sweden, and finishes at The Hague in Netherlands after the Summer Solstice of 2018. The best sailors of the world dare to participate in the competition.
Fabian Bengtsson, Communications Manager at Beckman Media AB, and expert on the sailing competition talks to www.gothenburg-400.com Fabian tells, what makes this race great, what is the significance of the race to Gothenburg, and also to Sweden. In this podcast, you will know almost everything about the world’s greatest sailing race.
Volvo Ocean Race 2017-2018: History & Tips from Fabian Bengtsson
The 2017-2018 race has 7 participant teams. Each yacht has 9 to 12 members, and there are women sailors as well and, on board reporters! The race travels across 10 port cities touching all the continents of the world:
- Alicante, Spain
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Hong Kong, China
- Guangzhou, China
- Hong Kong, China
- Auckland, Australia
- Itajai, Brazil
- New Port, USA
- Cardiff, UK
- Gothenburg, Sweden
- The Hague, Netherlands
In order to make the Volvo Ocean Race useful to Gothenburgers, the local government actively involves in hosting the race. There are activities for kids and adults for the entire week in June.
Ann-Sofie Hermansson, the head of the local government, Göteborgs stad, noted that “Gothenburg is a proud shipping town with strong links to the Volvo Ocean Race. Choosing the event back the fourth time feels like the most natural thing in the world. This will not only be an exciting sporting experience, but also a people’s festival, with free entrances, with concerts and lots of activities for all ages. This will be a party we all create together. Welcome.”
