Inaugural Spain Sail Grand Prix drew in thousands of fans over the weekend, putting Valencia firmly on the international high-performance sailing calendar.
Event leaves a lasting impact on Marina Port Valencia, providing a fresh opportunity to showcase the city as a premier destination for sports and water tourism.
SailGP’s Valencia debut marks a new chapter for the city’s waterfront, which will welcome the circuit back over the next few years.
Marina Port Valencia has wrapped up its debut as a SailGP host venue, with two days of high-octane racing bringing thousands of fans and visitors to Valencia’s waterfront. Spain Sail Grand Prix Valencia, held on 5 and 6 September, has put the city on the SailGP circuit for the first time and anchored its position as a global destination for sport and for sailing.
Over the weekend, thirteen teams battled it out on a close-to-shore racecourse aboard SailGP’s F50s, catamarans capable of topping 100 kilometres per hour. The racing offered an exceptionally close-up experience for spectators, with Marina Port Valencia at the heart of all the action.
The event also drew a strong response from fans, with tickets sold out for both days of racing. The arrival of teams, technical crews, event staff and visitors brought increased footfall to the marina and the waterfront over a weekend when sport once again took centre stage in the city.
On the racing side, Spanish team Los Gallos was one of the standout performers on the opening day, securing two wins and a second-place finish to sail to the top of their group. However, Sunday’s wind conditions changed the course of the racing, leaving Team Spain out of the final. The United States took the overall win, finishing ahead of Australia on a day marked by particularly challenging conditions.
For Marina Port Valencia, hosting the Spain Sail Grand Prix has been a fantastic opportunity to showcase its facilities and spaces on the international sporting stage, with different areas adapted over recent weeks to meet the needs of the teams, event organisers and spectators. For several weeks, the Marina’s day-to-day activity continued alongside preparations for a major competition, temporarily transforming the site and bringing part of the race into the city itself.
But this was no one-off event. Valencia is part of a three-year agreement with SailGP in which the championship will head back to the city in the seasons ahead. With Valencia now a permanent stop on the circuit, the relationship goes beyond a single event, creating an opportunity to further raise the international profile of the city’s waterfront.
Following its first ever SailGP event, Valencia comes away with a new level of experience in organising and hosting major international events. In short, the sea, the city and sport came together once again at the weekend, opening the door to future editions of one of the world’s most prestigious sailing circuits.
