“In 2023 The Ocean Race, the most extraordinary and toughest regatta around the world, turns 50 and will arrive in Italy for the first time in history. The departure is set for next January 15 from Alicante (Spain) and the arrival is expected in Genoa with the “Grand Finale” from 24 June to 2 July 2023″. The organization writes it in a note for the launch of the event, today at Coni.
“Genoa thus becomes the world capital of sailing. The Ocean Live Park will be set up in the new East Waterfront with numerous events and an expected attendance of over 300,000. In addition to the arrival of the 14th edition of The Ocean Race, there will be the “In Port Race” and “The Ocean Race Legends 50th Anniversary Regatta”. And before the world “arrives” in Genoa, the Ligurian capital will go around the world with a “Business Lounge” in each stage where excellence will be promoted of the Ligurian territory and Made in Italy”.
“The value of The Ocean Race for Genoa, in addition to the great sporting prestige of the initiative, is to promote our city in the world: its beauties, great attractions, food and wine, climate, traditions”, highlights the Mayor of Genoa, Marco Bucci. “But also innovative processes, a fully evolving reality capable of being able to host the final phase of a world-class event like the one we are about to experience. With this approach we are preparing to take Genoa to the world thanks to The Ocean Race. In the six stages where the village will be present we will bring our pride, our beauties, our style waiting for June 24, 2023 when it will be our turn I would do the honors of the house. We are ready to take up the great challenge that we have been waiting for for years. The whole city will be involved and we will demonstrate what the Genoese are capable of!”.
“We are approaching an historic and eagerly awaited appointment”, explains the President of the Liguria Region, Giovanni Toti. in a random place, but precisely in Genoa, increasingly the capital not only of boating, but also of sailing. Genoa will be crowned queen of the seas and is ready to show everyone its beauty. Through The Ocean Race, excellence will also be promoted of Genoa and Liguria to an audience of over 2 and a half million people. A promotion of the territory that will bring great visibility to our beautiful region, ready to welcome the many tourists who will come here for the event”.
The most important institutional and sporting authorities took part in the presentation at the CONI Hall of Honor. The closing speech by the Minister for Sport and youth policies, Andrea Abodi, was of great importance. “Genoa and Liguria hit the bull’s-eye, bringing to Italy for the first time an event that is not just sporting. The Ocean Race is much more than a competition, it is a wonderful adventure, which focuses on an important industrial sector and seeks to protect the environment. Sport can be both a witness of social dynamics and a formidable communication tool. I also underline the great financial effort that supported the city of Genoa – continues Abodi – 400 million investment, 150 public and 250 private. This happens because there is a vision: it’s not a frame, but a film of the development of the city. I hope that from 24 June to 2 July in Genoa there will be a lively presence of the entire country system, and that for the future there will be a new candidacy, because these events need continuity over time: we deserve more than a final stage “.
“The arrival of The Ocean Race is a luster for Genoa and Liguria but also and above all for the entire Italian sports system”, underlines the President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò. “We are appreciated for our history, for the results but also for the ability to organize these great events”.
To date, five boats have confirmed the participation in the Imoca class: 11th Hour Racing Team of Charlie Enright and Mark Towill (USA), Team Malizia of Boris Herrmann (GER), GUYOT environnement – Team Europe of Benjamin Dutreux and Robert Stanjek (FRA/GER ), Biotherm by Paul Meilhat (FRA), Holcim – PRB by Kevin Escoffier (FRA). The official registration of other boats is expected in the coming weeks. There are two Italian sailors in the race: Francesca Clapcich and Giulio Bertelli. The sailor from Trieste, Olympic in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 in the 49er, will be on board the 11th Hour Racing Team while Bertelli, protagonist in the last America’s Cup with Luna Rossa, will join Paul Meilhat on board Biotherm.
“The appointment with The Ocean Race – Genoa The Grand Finale represents for the Italian Sailing Federation and for Italy one of the most significant stages of the international sailing movement”, explains Francesco Ettorre, President of the FIV. “As I have already pointed out several times, there has been a great deal of effort to bring one of the most iconic regattas in the world to Genoa. Thanks to the commitment of the Municipality of Genoa, the Liguria Region and national institutions, this was possible. I hope the arrival of the Grand Finale in Italy for the first time will be a stimulus for being able to have an Italian crew in the near future”.
“The commitment is maximum both in the sporting part and in the communication and sustainability one”, says Richard Brisius, President of The Ocean Race. “The latter is a central point of the whole project and the Genova Process is a truly extraordinary path that will lead us to the draft of the Declaration of the Rights of the Oceans to be presented to the United Nations. Genoa is the heart of this round-the-world regatta and there we will celebrate 50 years with an extraordinary regatta “The Ocean Race Legends 50th Anniversary Regatta”. About 2000 sailors have taken part in The Ocean Race in this long journey. In Genoa we expect many “legends” and we will be able to see historic boats that have written epic pages of this magnificent adventure. The “Grand Finale” in Genoa will be really important. The teams will race towards a Mediterranean finish line for the first time in their 50-year history, challenging each other for the final points in the standings. And in the event of a tie, the final positioning of the In-Port Race which will take place in Genoa will provide the score to determine the positions in the general classification. In short, Genoa will play an exciting and decisive role in this fourteenth edition of The Ocean Race”.
The world tour is divided into 8 stages with the following departures: Alicante (15/1), Cape Verde (25/1), Cape Town (26/2), Itajaí (23/4), Newport (21/5) , Aarhus (8/6), Kiel (Fly-by, 9/6), The Hague (15/6), Genoa. Approximately 32,000 miles will be covered, across the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the inhospitable icy depths of the Southern Ocean which surrounds the area next to Antarctica. The one between Cape Town and Itajaí will be the longest leg in the 50-year history of the regatta, a 12,750-mile marathon during which boats will pass all three of the great southern capes for the first time: Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn, non-stop.