SailGP competitors vote Christchurch as best venue

Wednesday, 3 January 2024

SailGP catamarans in action on Lyttelton Harbour in March 2023.

It wasn’t just Christchurch residents who thought their city made a great venue for the SailGP high-speed yacht racing last year.

The competitors also agreed, voting Christchurch the best location from their 2023 year of catamaran racing.

The city hosted a leg of the globally televised event for the first time in March, alongside venues including Saint Tropez in France, San Francisco, Dubai, Sydney, Taranto in Italy, Los Angeles, and Cadiz in Spain.

Spectators watch the Christchurch leg of SailGP from the grandstand at Naval Point, Lyttelton, in March.

Russell Coutts, SailGP’s global chief executive, recently described Lyttelton Harbour as “a perfect venue for the stadium-style, inner harbour racing SailGP is known for”.

“Christchurch has proven to be one of our very best events to date – with fantastic racing, thousands of fans and spectacular scenery in a natural amphitheatre,” he said.

New Zealand driver and co-chief executive Peter Burling said the Christchurch event last year was “the best we’ve had in SailGP” and the harbour made “an amazing venue”.

SailGP chief executive Russell Coutts was voted the sailor the competitors would most likely to see join the league.

The two race days in the city last year provided clear skies, sunshine, a big fleet of spectator boats and sell-out crowds.

The city will again host the event this coming March, after organisers dropped Auckland from the schedule over a problem with onshore facilities.

Biggest trash talker was British driver Ben Ainslie.

Competitors from the 10 nations competing also voted Coutts, a former New Zealand Olympic yachtsman, the sailor they most wanted to see join the league.

Emirates’ Hannah Mills was picked by her peers as the league’s best strategist, while British driver Ben Ainslie was voted the biggest trash talker.

Canada’s Phil Robertson was voted the most aggressive driver, while SailGP athletes also voted Canada as the team most likely to cause a crash and the team they’d least like to sail for.

The United States was voted worst for communications, and Australia’s Kyle Langford was named most underrated athlete.

But Cantabrians might have to drop the laid-back, chilled-out attitude if they want to compete for best-fan status against a nation used to tomato-tossing festivals and bullfights.

Christchurch may have chosen as the best venue, but the spectators in Cadiz in Spain, were voted the best fans of the year by the SailGP yachties.

The 2024 event will be held in Christchurch on March 23 and 24 with an expected 22,000 spectators after the extension of onshore facilities.

The 2023 event cost the city’s economic agency ChristchurchNZ a $1 million incentive fee plus $500,000 in kind but this year was secured for less after last-minute negotiations were held when intended host Auckland was dropped at short notice.

ChristchurchNZ said the 2024 event was secured with a cash payment of $400,000, plus $300,000 worth of staffing, marketing and other forms of support.

Christchurch will also host SailGP in 2025.