18 March 2012

Auckland Stopover: the Fleet Has Departed

Auckland bid farewell to the Volvo Ocean Race as tens of thousands crowded the vantage points on the shore to watch the fleet depart. Hundreds of boats created a spectacular spectator fleet as the six Volvo Open 70s raced round the in-harbour course before setting off on the arduous Leg 5 to Itajai, Brazil.

"All the indications at this time are that it has been incredibly successful so, over the next few months, we will seriously be looking at placing a bid for a future Stopover," said Rachel Dacy, General Manager Destination for Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development, at the closing press conference. “It’s been 10 days of phenomenal activity."

"We wanted to leverage our position as a world class city in the marine sector and this has been a reminder of how compelling Auckland is in this sector," said Dacy. "We wanted to maximize on Auckland’s waterfront and re-engage people in what has been a huge and significant investment across Auckland over the last five years. We also wanted to position Auckland as a premier sailing destination and the fantastic images that have gone out around the world have reinforced that."

Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad praised the Auckland Stopover. “It’s a sad day when we leave a city," said Frostad. "We came with high expectations and they were exceeded. Auckland has changed, the Volvo race has changed and the Viaduct has changed. I think everyone won.”

Port Director Tom Mayo talked about visitor numbers. "About 8.45pm last night we had our 250,000th person through the Race Village and the numbers keep going up and up," he said. "We had a dream to see 200,000 people and we have got to a quarter of a million. Hopefully we can get closer to 300,000 before the

Ends

NOTES FOR EDITORS
• The 2011/12 Volvo Ocean Race started in Alicante (Spain) on 29 October and features nine Legs with Stopovers in Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Sanya (China), Auckland (New Zealand), Itajai (Brazil), Miami (USA), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France) with the finish in Galway (Ireland) in July 2012.
• The Auckland Stopover ran from 8 – 18 March 2012
15 March: Practice Race
16 March: Pro-Am Race
17 March: In-Port Race
18 March: Start of Leg 5 to Itajai (Brazil)
• The last Auckland Stopover was a decade ago, during the 2001/2002 Race. There was a brief 48 hour pitstop in Wellington in 2005/6.
• The 2012 Stopover will be the eighth time the Race has come to Auckland. This is the eleventh edition of the Race which was first held back in 1973/74.
• Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) owns the rights to stage the Volvo Ocean Race Auckland Stopover (VORAS), and is the primary funder of the event.
• Government support for the event has been confirmed, including a grant from the Major Events Development Fund.
• ATEED has appointed Auckland major events company Mayo& to deliver the Stopover on its behalf.
• For more information on the Volvo Ocean Race Auckland Stopover, please visit www.volvooceanraceauckland.com

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