The local economy in Plymouth – Britain’s Ocean City – is predicted to receive a multi-million-pound boost when the most exciting racing on-water, SailGP, returns this summer for the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix on July 30-31.
Early bird tickets for the event, offering a 10% discount on a variety of options, are on sale now for a limited period and can be purchased at SailGP.com/GreatBritain.
The return of the Grand Prix to the South West coast and to the UK’s first National Marine Park for the second year in a row is being delivered in partnership with Plymouth City Council and is expected to build on last year’s success which brought numerous benefits to the region.
A report by Deloitte into July 2021’s Season 2 Grand Prix revealed the event drew an estimated 27,000 spectators to the city and injected $9.5 million (£7.71 million) into the local economy - all of which contributed to it receiving a gold award for Tourism Event/Festival of the Year in the Devon Tourism Awards.
The numbers for this year’s Grand Prix are expected to exceed this as the Covid-19 restrictions which placed limits on the number of people that could travel to last year’s event from outside the Plymouth region are no longer in place.
The 2022 Grand Prix will also build on the community impact activities delivered through SailGP’s Inspire program which are designed to connect with young people in the area and showcase the importance of sustainability in sailing and how it can be a force for good. The Inspire program has engaged over 8,000 young people around the globe, well on its way to reaching its target of 10,000 young people by 2025.
As part of this in 2021, SailGP partnered with the Plymouth based Ocean Conservation Trust to connect sport and conservation, with a programme of free engagement and educational opportunities, a mammal protection plan for the racing weekend and the restoration of seagrass meadows in Plymouth Sound National Marine Park.
A range of SailGP Inspire activities are planned for this July’s event, which will also see Plymouth City Council sign the league’s Climate Action Charter, committing to local impact projects that focus on clean energy impact and wider ocean conservation.
Andrew Thompson, Chief Financial and Commercial Officer, SailGP said: “Having a positive impact is central to everything we do at SailGP and ensuring that our events deliver significant benefits to the people and places where they are held is a critically important part of our work and our mission.
“It is fantastic to see that last year’s Grand Prix had such a positive impact on the local economy in Plymouth and we are confident we can attract even more people to the city and deliver even greater benefits this year.
“Beyond our economic impact, SailGP is equally committed to having a positive impact on the community and through our Inspire programme we will also be delivering a wide-range of activities to highlight the importance of sustainability and provide education and opportunities for young people in the area.”
Councillor Pat Patel, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, Culture, Leisure
& Sport at Plymouth City Council, said: “We are thrilled to welcome SailGP back to Plymouth. It was one of the absolute highlights of summer 2021 and now that the limitations of the pandemic have eased, it’s set to have even more of a positive impact on our local economy, bringing huge benefits for our businesses and residents.
“There are so many synergies between SailGP and the work we’re doing in Plymouth, including developing the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park with the aim of protecting the natural environment and increasing engagement with the water. We’re looking forward to working closely together to maximise all of the opportunities that this year’s event will bring.”
Season 3 of SailGP officially started on May 14-15 in Bermuda and features an expanded calendar that spans 2022-23 and combines previous SailGP venues such as Plymouth, Saint-Tropez, Cádiz and San Francisco with new destinations including Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Singapore and New Zealand. One final venue is expected to be announced in the coming weeks, to make up an 11-event season.
Not only is the season busier but so is the race course, with two new teams added to the starting line in Canada and Switzerland. They join defending champions Australia, alongside Denmark, France, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and the United States in the Season 3 fleet.