SailGP: Plymouth to host Season 2 event in July 2021

Plymouth will host SailGP's Season 2 European debut when the global league's events restart in 2021. The remainder of the 2020 season was impacted by Covid-19, however Season 2 is due to commence in San Francisco in April 2021 before moving on to New York. The championship will then return to UK shores on July 17-18, 2021 for the third event of Season 2. The event will take place on Plymouth Sound and be shown live on Sky Sports. Plymouth SailGP is in partnership with Plymouth City Council, with support from Associated British Ports, English Cities Fund and Sutton Harbour Group. It will also form part of the city's Mayflower 400 commemorations, marking the anniversary of the signature voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to America. Plymouth was selected following a six-month bid process which involved five other UK cities. New for SailGP fans for Season Two will be the addition of the New Zealand SailGP Team to the impressive line-up of world-class sailors and sailing nations. Olympic gold medallists and defending America's Cup champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke are part of the newly-formed New Zealand SailGP Team. The pair will serve as co-CEOs of the team and continue to add to the competition's line-up, which includes Sir Ben Ainslie, the most successful Olympic sailor of all time. "For us as a British team there is nothing better than racing in front of a home crowd and we are incredibly excited about the prospect," Ainslie said. "There is an element of nostalgia for me personally, having grown up and learned to sail in the West Country and now all these years later coming back to race on the international stage. "Plymouth is a fantastic sailing venue with a natural amphitheatre for the fans to watch these amazing F50s." "We are really excited to add Plymouth as the third event in Season 2 of SailGP," SailGP CEO, Sir Russell Coutts added. "The British have a very talented team led by Ben Ainslie and I'm sure they will receive a lot of local support in their bid for the global championship." Following the UK leg, SailGP plans to remain in Europe for grand prix events in the other team markets: Denmark, France and Spain. Dates and venues will be announced in the coming months.