The city of Gothenburg in Sweden has been recently presented as the host city of the 2012 edition of the annual World Yacht Racing Forum. Organised by Informa Yacht Group, the two-day conference will be held at the Clarion Post Hotel from 11-12 December in the center of Sweden’s second largest city. The Forum will also comprise the Yacht Racing Design & Technology Symposium, which will take place as a parallel event on the same dates.
World Yacht Racing Forum 2011
The Forum has previously been hosted in Monaco and, for the last two years, in Estoril Portugal. However, as 2012 Conference Producer James Gradwell explains, it has been important to move the Forum to a new location; “As a global sport and industry, we have always wanted to give other cities the opportunity to host the World Yacht Racing Forum as well as offering different venues for delegates. There is a strong interest in yacht racing in Northern Europe and Gothenburg is no stranger to hosting large-scale yachting events including the Volvo Ocean Race. It is a fantastic city and we look forward to being there in December.”
Now in its 5th year, the popular World Yacht Racing Forum is the leading annual conference for the global yachting industry. The two-day event gathers the sport’s key personalities and industry experts to discuss the business of yacht racing and key issues such as sponsorship, television, media, Olympics, new markets, host cities and much more.
2012 has already been a remarkable year for yacht racing. The 2011/2012 Volvo Ocean race concluded with a spectacular finish in Galway this month. The Alpari World Match Racing Tour, Extreme Sailing Series and America’s Cup World Series are all well into their 2012 seasons and London is fast preparing for the London 2012 Olympic Games this month. The much anticipated single-handed Vendée Globe also starts in November this year from Les Sables D’Olonne in France.
New sponsors and host venues have also entered the sport this year which is testimony to the commercial value of yacht racing to sponsors and investors. The World Yacht Racing Forum will be profiling many of these new sponsors at the December conference.
The move to Gothenburg has been coordinated with Host Partner and Gothenburg based events agency Brandspot with additional support from the City of Gothenburg and the Clarion Post Hotel. As Brandpsot Managing Director Jan Torstenson explains
“We are delighted for the City of Gothenburg to host the World Yacht Racing Forum in December. The Forum is a very respected event for the professional yachting industry and I know all delegates and sponsors will be impressed with the hospitality that Gothenburg can provide. The Post Hotel, which just opened in January this year, is the ideal venue in the center of the City.”
This years World Yacht Racing Forum will include two days of interactive presentations, panel discussions and round table sessions to discuss key issues from the business of yacht racing. The Forum will also incorporate two evening social functions where delegates will be able to network with industry peers and meet new business contacts.
The full conference schedule will be available by the end of July.
