Full house for first World Yacht Racing Forum

With 37 speakers from 15 different countries, 300 delegates, and over sixty registered media and eighteen sponsors, the first edition of the World Yacht Racing Forum has established itself as a major new platform for the business of yacht racing.

A number of participants have confirmed their attendance over the past few days, whilst key members of the yacht racing community such as triple gold medallist Ben Ainslie and double Olympic champion Shirley Robertson have confirmed their participation as speakers. They join a prestigious group of speakers that already includes Sir Keith Mills, Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad, veteran America’s Cup and round the world sailor Paul Cayard, Mark Turner and many others.

Amongst the highlights of the conference, a panel discussion on the America’s Cup will unite Alinghi and BMW ORACLE Racing for the first time, giving Alinghi’s Brad Butterworth and BMW ORACLE Racing’s Tom Ehman the opportunity to openly discuss their views with Paul Cayard, Sir Keith Mills, Alessandra Pandarese and Stéphane Kandler.

Also full of promises, the discussion on the critical factors to ensure successful commercial event management will unite Volvo Ocean Race and Vendée Globe managers for an interesting comparison between the leading round the world regattas. Mark Turner and his OC Group, organiser of the iShares Cup and the Barcelona World Race, together with Stuart Quarrie - the mastermind behind Cowes Week, the biggest regatta in the world – will share their experience and compare their points of view.

How can we improve the exposure and interest of sailing to broadcast and media?; What is the impact of sailing events on host cities and nations?; What is the value of sailing sponsorship?... these are just some other topics that are at the heart of the development of the sport of sailing and that will be debated next week in Monaco by the key figures in the industry.

Hosted by the Informa Yacht Group, the World Yacht Racing Forum will run in tandem with the fourth edition of the Motor Sport Business Forum, also taking place form 10-11 December at the Grimaldi Forum venue. Delegates from both Forums will have exclusive access to the networking and exhibition area of each Forum, allowing participants within both these high profile sports to meet and network with each other.