The Ocean Race has been shortlisted in three key categories at the prestigious BT Sport Industry Awards 2019.
The Race, formerly known as the Volvo Ocean Race, has been nominated for prizes by sports industry selectors in a trio of areas – Fan or Community Engagement Award, Cutting Edge Sport Award, Social and Sustainable Development Award – following a record-breaking 2017-18 edition.
The BT Sport Industry Awards 2019, with 19 categories of outstanding competition, bring together the biggest and best sport brands, campaigns, events and organisations on the planet, including the likes of adidas, Nike, Formula One, Visa, BT Sport and the European Tour.
The Ocean Race Co-President Johan Salén said: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted against some very impressive events and campaigns in three areas that are key to our organisation.
“The 2017-18 edition of the Race saw us shift perceptions of sailing as a sport, and reach more fans than ever before,” he continued.
“Sustainability is key to who we are as an event, and finding unique ways to communicate and engage fans old and new, and building innovative technological solutions in the most extreme places on the planet is what we do.”
The nominations are the latest in a line of honours received by The Ocean Race, which will start again from Alicante, Spain in autumn 2021. Interest in the next race is high, and several high-profile sailors – including French Route du Rhum winner Paul Meilhat, and Volvo Ocean Race winner and America’s Cup skipper Franck Cammas – have recently signalled their intent to take up the challenge.
The BT Sport Industry Awards are the largest commercial sports awards in the world. Winners will be announced on April 25 in London.
WHY? It is a little known fact that Port Elizabeth has been approached TWICE to bid on becoming a stopover for the Volvo Ocean Race – the first attempt was stopped by our local Port Authorities and we await the outcome of the second. The home of Volvo Cars is Gothenburg – the second-largest city in Sweden which is twinned with Nelson Mandela Bay and which has provided incredible support and promotion for our Metropole.
MyPE is running a series of articles about the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race to: 1. Acknowledge and thank Gothenburg for their support, 2. Showcase a sport that Alan Straton is passionate about, 3. Demonstrate to citizens of Port Elizabeth just how much exposure a city like Cape Town receives from the VOR and 4. As a gentle reminder to the TNPA and our city of the great value that such an event can bring to our city.
The start city of the VOR – Alicante, Spain – estimates the economic value of each leg to be R960 Million. Click here to read very Volvo Ocean Race published on MyPE.
The local Algoa Bay Yacht Club has hosted many international sailing regattas, the most recent being the 60th 5O5 World Championships and, along with requests from the Volvo Ocean Race, have also recently been asked to host the 2019 stopover for the Clipper Around the World Yacht Race.
Alan Straton
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