Grape Day Out 2013



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Cape Town has been announced as an Official Stopover for the 2011/2012 Volvo Ocean Race.  This will be the eighth time Cape Town will host this premier ocean race, due to start from Alicante in Spain in the autumn of 2011. 

"We are delighted that after a year of negotiations, Cape Town has once again been selected as the first port of call in this prestigious ocean race.  As the past few stopovers have proved, the race is a superb platform to achieve business tourism and sporting objectives for Cape Town and the Western Cape" said Bruce Parker-Forsyth, CEO of The Volvo Ocean Race Cape Town Stopover and Worldsport, the project management company behind the last four stopovers.

Hosting the 11th Volvo Ocean Race/Whitbread will be one of the biggest events in Cape Town following its hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2010.  The race will highlight Cape Town as a premier leisure and events destination. 

Pieter Cronjé, Director of Communication for the City of Cape Town said Cape Town is proud to be the Host Port for the exciting and spectacular Volvo Ocean Race 2011 - 2012.  Cape Town is a maritime city and growing events capital. This announcement will provide destination marketing and economic benefits beyond the staging of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  The 2008 race stopover generated an estimated total economic impact of R308.15 million for Cape Town and the Western Cape.  The tourism destination marketing exposure for Cape Town was estimated at R77.45 million. Local communities were also involved in the stopover through volunteer programmes, student internships, community days and a local craft exhibition.  

The V&A Waterfront is a perfect venue for shore crews to prepare the boats for the next test in the race and for guests to enjoy the ambience and unique atmosphere Cape Town has to offer.  The V & A will also play host to the full schedule of sailing planned ahead of the start of leg two, including the important in-port racing/race as well as the pro-am racing/race.

Following the Cape Town Press Conference, Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad, commented, "We have received port bids from many different cities, each with their own cultures, specialities and challenges.  We have taken our time to evaluate carefully over 80 bids from ports around the world who wanted to host the event, before making our decisions.  As we continue to improve and lift the bar for our stopovers, it is great to have Cape Town onboard sharing the same vision and ambitions."