The Barcolana kicks off: ten days of events on land and at sea

The 54th edition of the Barcolana presented by Generali is kicking off today. Trieste's great sea celebration was presented this morning shortly before the flag-hoisting ceremony marking the official opening of the event. This year too, the Barcolana has secured the main media partnership with RAI, and the Institutions' support. The Municipality of Trieste will be co-organising the event, in which the associations and businesses of Friuli Venezia Giulia will be participating with enthusiasm.

"We decided to sum up this year's edition with the word 'Enjoy'," said SVBG president Mitja Gialuz, "which invites people to participate and have fun: after two extremely challenging years, the Barcolana is back with its celebrations, with the possibility to experience our shared love for the sea. Today marks the beginning of ten days of events on land and at sea, which we organised with strong commitment and with the aim of restoring an atmosphere of joy in sharing our love for the sea. Barcolana54 Presented by Generali is about inclusion, passion, it will bring music back to the foreground, and it will bring together sea lovers."

Chairman of Generali Andrea Sironi said: "The Barcolana is a celebration of the sea which combines the passion for sports with environmental commitment and cooperation. Generali has contributed to the event with its expertise and ambitions, one of which is the "Women in Sailing - Generali Cup", whose aim is to show that collaboration, inclusion and acknowledging merit are the best way to achieve a more resilient and sustainable society that can face new challenges and change."

In addition to the great regatta held on 9 October, Barcolana54 Presented by Generali will offer to its audience various activities related to people's participation, love for sailing, charity, diversity&inclusion and sustainability. A further addition will be the Amerigo Vespucci Ship, which will join the Barcolana on the morning of Saturday 8 October, with the aim of inspiring all sea and sailing lovers.

Along with Generali, the Barcolana will once again organise the "Generali Cup - Women in Sailing", the event bringing female sailors to the fore. Last year, the Barcolana told the story of hundreds of female sailors through pictures, leading to tangible results: after only one edition, the Barcolana's share of female skippers has already increased by 12%. This figure underscores the spirit of competitiveness they are showing to win the Generali Cup - Women in Sailing, which will award the first helmswoman in a mixed crew to cross the Barcolana's finish line. 1032 people have already registered, slightly less than 10% of whom are women: "We have always had many female participants in the Barcolana," said president Gialuz, "but, after last year, they now play a leading role, and we know their stories and their enthusiasm. This is a key issue that extends well beyond the Barcolana."

The rich "C'ero Anch'Io" ("I was there too") initiative is back with a special protagonist, the sea photographer Carlo Borlenghi. During the pandemic, Borlenghi specialised in portraits. After taking portraits of all the inhabitants of his hometown, Bellano, his aim now is to photograph all participants of the Barcolana over the next two editions. From Wednesday 5 to Friday 7, Carlo Borlenghi will take pictures for free of all boat owners going to register at the SVBG's headquarters. Each of them will receive a digital version of their portrait; on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 the project will be moved to the Waterfront, in the Salone degli Incanti, and will take place once more during the awards week. Sailors will receive a black and white portrait of themselves being featured with the objects symbolising their love for the sea: the portraits' digital versions will be sent to boat owners and to the SVBG, which will use them in its promotion and communication activities. In addition to portraits, our "C'ero anch'io" booklet will be printed once again: upon the boat owners' request, the Barcolana has reprinted the long list of boats and boat owners who participated in the Barcolana year by year.

One of the special projects of this year's Barcolana is the large fundraising campaign set up with the Donation Network. Around 30 associations have already signed up, and any crew can participate by listing the name of their boat and of their crew. Much interest and engagement are being shown towards the exhibition dedicated to the 30th anniversary since the victory of the Louis Vuitton Cup by Il Moro di Venezia. The exhibition will be held at the Salone degli Incanti from 5 to 9 October (free admission) and will feature beautiful vintage pictures by Carlo Borlenghi, flags and objects that were once on Il Moro di Venezia. Right beside it on the Waterfront, five boats that belonged to the Gardini family will be moored with full honours. Moreover, an event dedicated to the Il Moro di Venezia's story will be held at the Salone degli Incanti on the evening of Friday 7 October. The moderator of the event will be Antonio Vettese, and Paul Cayard will participate remotely.

The Barcolana Sea Summit "Towards the States General of Sustainability of the Northern Adriatic Sea and Central Europe" will take place from 5 to 7 October at the TCC. The event has grown and will host more than 70 speakers over the course of 3 days. This year, the topic of sustainability will be discussed dealing with its complexity and focusing on the "sustainable mindset" of our young people of Generation Z. More than 500 students of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region will participate in the event thanks to the Regional School Office and to the high schools of the region that have joined with enthusiasm the project and the survey by SWG to collect the Generation Z's opinions.

Barcolana54 it is ready to kick off and will be a ZeroImpact event thanks to AcegasApsAmga's support. Our digital partner IKON has drafted the program, which was presented today, available in two versions: a summarised version on a flyer being distributed for free around the city. There are over 170 events, some of which have been organised by associations and businesses which have started their partnership with the Barcolana as part of the "Candida il tuo evento" ("Put forward your event") initiative, organised by the Barcolana over the summer.

The programme at sea - The young athletes of the Barcolana Young are about to arrive in Trieste. As per tradition, they will be opening the Barcolana by competing tomorrow and on Sunday, with the Molo IV as their operational base. On Sunday 2 October the Barcolana Nuota by Dolomia will take place: this year, more than 200 open water swimmers will compete on a new course starting and finishing off the Molo IV.
The new addition at sea is the Barcolana Maxi - Portopiccolo Cup, which will take place over the course of three days and will be dedicated to "maxi" yachts and will have its operational base in the wonderful Portopiccolo. 10 yachts will participate, including Deep Blue, the American 72 feet long Mini Maxi competing for the first time in the Barcolana.
The Barcolana per il Sociale will take place on Tuesday 4 October, while 6 and 7 October will be dedicated to foiling sailing with the Barcolana FUN: it is a special event for the Next Generation FIV Foil Academy powered by Luna Rossa, the foiling sailing's development programme coordinated by Olympic athlete Alessandra Sensini with the aim of fostering and increasing young sailors' sports skills. The Barcolana will thus host the young people under 19 years of age who have excelled in Italian competitive foiling sailing in the 5 races of the Academy held until now in Viareggio, Senigallia, Rimini, Ravenna and Monfalcone. Seminars and tests at sea will be held at the SVBG on Thursday 6 October. Wasp, Skeeta and IQfoil, new generation boats and surfboards, will compete on the Waterfront and on the course of Barcolana by Night Snam Cup off the San Giusto Basin, weather permitting, on Friday 7 October. The Italian Naval League's Cup for boats that belong to different divisions and are in Trieste for the Barcolana and the One Design Regatta for monotypes organised by the Sailing Society of Grignano will take place on 7 October as well.
The monotypes of the Barcolana By Night Snam Cup, the boats of the Barcolana Classic by SIAD and, for the second time, the monotypes of the One Design regatta will compete on the day prior to the Barcolana, Saturday 8 October.
Finally, the crews of the Go to Barcolana from Slovenia I Feel Slovenia and of the Go to Barcolana from Ravenna Hera Cup will arrive in Trieste on the days right before the Barcolana.

On land - More than 170 events will take place on Land on the Waterfront, near Ponterosso, at the Salone degli Incanti and at the Generali Auditorium of the Trieste Convention Center as well as in exhibition halls and museums of the city.
In addition to the Barcolana Sea Summit "Towards the States General of Sustainability of the Northern Adriatic Sea and Central Europe" (5-7 October), the large event dedicated to sustainability and to the Mediterranean Sea, the fourth edition of "Barcolana - A sea of tales", the literary festival dedicated to the sea, will take place from Thursday 6 to Saturday 8 October. Moreover, many more popular events will be held, including the Barcolana Job organised with the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, the Barcolana Digitale (Digital Barcolana) conference organised by the State Police, Ars Navigandi's educational workshops organised by Mare FVG and open to all those who want to learn more about the sea.
The Villaggio Barcolana will open on 1 October in Piazza dell'Unità, which will host the stands of the Barcolana's institutions and Gold Sponsors, while the temporary stores and stands for crews will open along the Waterfront on Wednesday 5 October. Furthermore, a dedicated area will be set up on the Waterfront for the RAI staff and for Linea Blu live broadcast scheduled for Saturday 8 October at 2:00 p.m..
Over 500 boats will be able to moor on the Waterfront: participants coming from outside Trieste who are registering online and applying for a mooring space will find it for free (upon availability) thanks to the great commitment of the Sailing Club of Barcola and Grignano with the support of the Follow me, the mooring service set up with the students of the Istituto Tecnico Nautico di Trieste (Trieste's Sailing School).

The Salone degli Incanti will host many of the Barcolana events on land thanks to the Fondazione CRTrieste, which has cooperated with the Barcolana in setting up the stands: in these days the Salone is hosting a series of events and exhibitions on the 30th anniversary since the creation of the Fondazione CRTrieste, while it will turn into Barcolana's headquarters on the Waterfront thanks to PromoTurismo FVG starting from Wednesday. It will host the exhibition dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Il Moro di Venezia, the press office, many conferences, and three theme parties organised by PromoTurismo FVG with RadioDJ's DJs in the evening. Lastly, the Barcolana is back with music events, including a Joan Thiele concert organised by Vigna PR and by the Miela theatre on Friday 7 October.