The Volvo Ocean Race confirmed on July 4 that Qingdao, the co-host city of Beijing Olympic sailing events, will become one of the stopover ports during the 2008-2009 race; the arrival time to be expected around February 2009.

Lars Westlund, acting CEO of Volvo China, gives a presentation at the press conference

According to Yan Xinmin, Media Manager of China with Volvo Event Management UK Ltd., the fleet that consists of seven sailboats will arrive in Qingdao around the Chinese Spring Festival in 2009 and stay for about three weeks, during which various activities related to sailing--such as arrival and departure ceremonies--will all be scheduled. "In other words, it will not only be a professional sailing event, but also a cultural and recreational carnival for local audiences," said Yan.

The 2008-2009 Race will start from Alicante Port, Spain on October 11, 2008, going through Cape Town of South Africa, Kochi of India, Singapore, Qingdao of China, Rio de Janeiro of Brazil, Boston of the United States, Galway of Ireland, Stockholm and Gothenburg of Sweden, to the finish in St. Petersburg of Russia on June 27, 2009. The journey is around 39,000 nautical miles.

The sailboats in the fleet will be the Volvo Open 70, the fastest monohull ocean racing yacht in the world that is able to achieve 24-hour record stands at 500 miles. The yacht is 21.5m long, 32m high, 6m wide and 5m below the water. The 14,000 kg boat will have 11 member crews on board , including a media person to record and broadcast the challenging life of the sailors.

"A made-in-China Irish sailboat named 'Green Dragon' will participate in the event; and as far as I know, they are looking for a Chinese sailor," said Yan. "It also means that the Chinese element has made its presence in all top sailing events in the world--the Olympic Games, the America Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race."

About the Volvo Ocean Race

Established in 1973, the Volvo Ocean Race is considered to be one of the biggest sailing events on the planet. Its predecessor was the Whitbread Round the World Race. The sailing marathon was held every four years, lasting for nine months across 39,000 nautical miles and visiting up to 12 countries and ports. The whole race goes through several severe oceanic and climactic extremes, which pose a huge challenge to all competitors in terms of technology, and physical and mental endurance. The interval period of the race has been shortened to three years since the 2005-2006 Race.