SailGP axes Christchurch contract
Wednesday, 19 June 2024
There will be no SailGP race in Lyttelton in 2025, with ChristchurchNZ announcing the organisation behind the competition has withdrawn from its contract.
The announcement on Wednesday comes almost three months after SailGP boss Sir Russell Coutts said the event would not return to Christchurch because “minority groups” were making things too difficult.
The first day of racing during the two-day event in March was cancelled because of Hector’s dolphins in the harbour.
SailGP was hosted in Lyttelton Harbour in 2023 and 2024 as part of a four-year partnership, under which the event would alternate between hosts Christchurch and Auckland.
A SailGP spokesperson did not directly answer questions about why the decision was made, if it had to pay compensation to ChristchurchNZ for breaking its contract, and to what extent the protection of dolphins was a factor.
However, the spokesperson said the organisation was talking with partners in New Zealand and overseas to finalise its schedule. It will be announced imminently, but it was too soon to confirm specific venues, they said.
ChristchurchNZ said it accepted SailGP’s decision to withdraw from the 2025 agreement, as it had fulfilled its original intention to host two events.
Chief executive Ali Adams said the Sail GP event in Christchurch earlier this year was the world’s largest-ever ticketed sailing event, attracting more than 20,000 attendees.
The total economic impact of the 2024 event on Canterbury was $33.7 million, according to a post-event report by Deloitte. About $15.5m came from the gross expenditure of SailGP and competing teams.
Professor Liz Slooten, who has been studying Hector's dolphins for four decades, said the decision was “fantastic news”.
Slooten was publicly critical of organisers at the time of the event for hosting a high speed race between yachts that have sharp blades in a marine mammal sanctuary.
She said the location was “a really poor choice” and this year’s racing cancellations proved it was “more trouble then what it’s worth” for organisers.
“One thing that annoyed me [was] they kept saying that no dolphins were harmed, but we don't know that,” Slooten said, arguing that it was possible dolphins could have been hurt without the designated observers identifying that.
There were “at least half a dozen” other suitable venues in New Zealand that could host the event, she said, such as Queenstown’s Lake Wakatipu, which would be “the obvious place”.
City councillor Tyrone Fields, who represents Banks Peninsula, said past SailGPs had shown how Christchurch is able to put on “world-class events at the drop of a hat”.
He was referencing the fact that Auckland was the original 2024 event host, but the venue was dropped because Wynyard Point could not be guaranteed as a spectator zone.
Fields said Christchurch was asked to deliver the event in 12 weeks “and, against all odds, we did, because as a city we’ve got the goods”.
Lyttelton residents would have mixed feelings about the cancellation, he said.
“But there are heaps of great events in Lyttelton that are just as much fun, less disruptive and a hell of a lot cheaper for the city.”
Leeann Watson, head of Business Canterbury, said she was “incredibly disappointed” that SailGP would not return to Christchurch, and said she sympathised with ChristchurchNZ and everyone who “pulled out all stops” to attract and put on the event.
“Having the opportunity to host SailGP from Christchurch provided us with a unique opportunity to put ourselves on the map as a world-class host city, in front of an international audience of over 74 million people, and with the economic boost that comes with hosting an event of that size.”
More than 6000 visitors came from outside Canterbury to the event in March, Watson said, spending more than $3 million.
“The question still remains on whether or not we did strike the right balance with the constraints in the Lyttelton Harbour last time.
“For some, given the loss of this event, the answer will most definitely be ‘no’, for others they will be no doubt celebrating this as a win. I understand there were some other logistical factors that appear to have played a part in SailGP’s decision.”
Speaking in March, SailGP chief executive Russell Coutts said the event would not return to Christchurch next year, due to minority interests making things too difficult.
On the eve of the much anticipated event in Lyttelton, the yachting legend revealed he was looking at other New Zealand host cities for 2025 and beyond.
Coutts said Lyttelton was a fantastic venue, but he lashed out at “a few minority groups that have a huge say in what happens”.
He did not specify the groups he had a problem with but highlighted issues faced with organising future events in Lyttelton.
However, a SailGP spokesperson said Christchurch had “proven to be one of the very best destinations in our global racing championship”.
Competitors also loved the event, voting Christchurch the best location from their 2023 year of catamaran racing.
Coutts himself 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 2023 Christchurch event was “the best we’ve had in SailGP” and the harbour made “an amazing venue”.