As the current edition of The Ocean Race heads back into the northern hemisphere, race organisers are already looking ahead to the next major event in the 10 year planning cycle - The Ocean Race Europe 2025.
Following the success of the inaugural event in 2021 - The Ocean Race Europe was among the first major international sporting events to resume following COVID lockdowns. Featuring 10 teams racing across two classes, the event combined world-class sport with a purpose-driven agenda. The 2025 edition has even larger ambitions.
Under the banner of “Connecting Europe: Racing to restore our ocean and waters” The Ocean Race Europe is scheduled to begin in the late summer of 2025, and will start in the Baltic Sea and finish in the Mediterranean, with up to five stops along the way.
The IMOCA class - featuring the most advanced foiling offshore race boats - will compete in The Ocean Race Europe, crewed by the best men and women in the sport racing alongside each other on each boat, as in the current race. The sporting calendar will include offshore legs between the host cities, as well as in port racing and pro/am guest sailing experiences.
European cities along the coastline are invited to express an interest in hosting the event and in particular to demonstrate how they would partner with The Ocean Race Europe to showcase projects and approaches towards the protection and restoration of the ocean and inland waters.
“The current edition of The Ocean Race has shown the power of combining sport with a strong purpose,” said Richard Brisius, the Race Chairman of The Ocean Race. “Alongside our stakeholders and host cities, we are passionate about the restoration of ocean health and committed to advancing the cause of ocean rights. The upcoming edition of The Ocean Race Europe is a natural extension of this work and we are looking to work with cities who share this vision."
The Ocean Race Europe is inspired by the EU Mission Restore Our Ocean and Waters. By racing through all the major sea basins surrounding Europe, the event will promote practical solutions and policies needed for restoring our ocean. The Ocean Race Europe will also contribute to scientific research and run learning programmes and workshops at all stopovers. The original The Ocean Race Summit Europe featured speakers like European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, Ocean and Fisheries.
“Passing through several member countries, The Ocean Race Europe 2025 will be a showcase of European cooperation and identity, open borders, the European Green Deal and the power of digital transformation, as well as the European mindset of working positively and proactively across national borders to address common challenges,” Brisius concluded.
The current edition of The Ocean Race has generated footfall of over 1-million visitors to the Ocean Live Park in the first four host cities on the race route. The start city of Alicante, for example, had 303,076 visitors and generated an economic impact of 71-million euros, creating the equivalent of 1200 jobs.
Key to developing a successful stopover for the European event - in addition to managing the basic technical requirements - will be a strong vision from the local host city that builds upon the Ocean Live Park concept developed by The Ocean Race for the current around the world event.
“We have seen the best stopovers are ones where the local host city makes a strong commitment to building an engaging local event around the Ocean Live Park concept,” said Mirko Groeschner, Director of Marketing and New Business for The Ocean Race.
“We are looking forward to hearing from potential host cities who see hosting a world-class sporting event like The Ocean Race Europe as a way to create an engaging and purpose-led legacy for their city and region.”
A list of technical requirements to host The Ocean Race Europe is available and the selection of successful cities will be based on fulfilment of this as well as the overall vision and concept for the event.