Galway set to party as Volvo Race starts in Alicante

ALICANTE kick started the world’s most prestigious sailing spectacular in some style last weekend – but Galway can brace itself for the party to beat all parties when the Volvo Ocean Race reaches its shores next May.There may be only eight competitors but this is Formula 1 racing on water, with each craft costing millions to develop and race, and shore teams of up to 200 waiting for them at each of the eleven stopover ports.And the icing on the cake for the massive Galway contingent at last Saturday’s start was the sight of the locally backed Green Dragon hitting the front from the hooter. And they aim to be in strong contention when the race hits Galway on May 23 for a two week festival of racing and partying. The former is up to the Lets Do It Galway organisation, backed by Failte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, all of whom learned a lot about the logistics in Alicante – but the latter will capitalise on Galway’s festive spirit to create what should be the biggest international sporting event in the country next year.“The figures compiled independently for us by Deloitte predict a direct €43.7 million return on the Galway visit alone, but what this will also do is showcase Ireland and Galway as a destination venue for world events,” said Sean Quinn, CEO of Failte Ireland. “We have a green island which we are very proud of, but sometimes we forget that it’s surrounded by blue. This will do for Galway what ...