SailGP announces high-speed race will return to Halifax in 2026
International sailing competition attracted 50,000 spectators to event last year in Halifax harbour
The international sailing competition known as SailGP will return to Halifax in June 2026, two years after the event made its Canadian debut in the city and attracted tens of thousands of spectators who watched the high-speed racing from both sides of the harbour.
SailGP announced the return to Halifax in a news release Wednesday that included nine other race locations around the world for next year's season. The release did not indicate specific dates, only months.
The racing features teams from various nations sailing identical 15-metre catamarans outfitted with rigid sails that catch the wind like airplane wings. The boats manoeuvre around a course, with speeds sometimes approaching 100 km/h.
Billy Gooderham, the "flight controller" for Canada's SailGP team, said the competition has "huge buy-in" from the Nova Scotia public and Halifax harbour is a great venue.
"There's so much maritime culture here," said Gooderham, who is from Nova Scotia. "Whether you actually sail or not, everybody knows what sailing is around here. We're a province surrounded by the ocean."
Last year, an estimated 50,000 people watched the racing in Halifax harbour, according to organizers. Marine and air traffic had to be shut down in an unprecedented fashion.
SailGP CEO Russell Coutts called Halifax a "top fan favorite" in a news release, which said last year's event had "record shoreline crowds."
Other SailGP stops in 2026 include two locations in Australia, two in the United Arab Emirates, along with Rio, Bermuda, New York, Great Britain and France. The release said more cities and dates will also be confirmed.
Tickets for the 2024 event in Halifax sold out quickly, with Sail Nova Scotia reporting the majority of ticket holders came from outside the city.
Sarah Flanagan, the president of Sail Nova Scotia, said the 2024 event was a tourism win and brought in people from outside the province who saw that Nova Scotia is a "premier sailing destination." Locally, she said, the race showcased the sport to a wider audience.
"I think we want to take the old success from that event and see if we can improve upon it this time around and make the magic happen again," she said.
With files from Tom Murphy