The Ocean Race: Preparations underway for next prestigious sailing event to head to our city
Preparations are well underway for the next prestigious sailing event which will be coming to Portsmouth hot on the heels of SailGP.
Portsmouth is one of six stopovers for The Ocean Race Europe, an offshore sailing race for the foiling IMOCA class, which falls under the banner of The Ocean Race, the iconic fully-crewed offshore around the world race.
A sailing village dubbed - Ocean Live Park - will be created at Gunwharf Quays for local residents to enjoy from August 14 to 17, with family activities, engaging and educational ocean health activities and content and activations showcasing the extraordinary achievements of the sailors and teams in the Race.
The second leg of The Ocean Race Europe will start in Portsmouth on the weekend August 16 and 17, with the first leg leaving Kiel in Germany on August 10.
First contested in 1973, when Portsmouth served as its start and finish port, the race features mixed male/female crews of the IMOCA fleet racing through the Baltic Sea and North Sea and into the English Channel. When it leaves Portsmouth it then heads to Portugal, Spain, southern France, Italy and finishes in Montenegro.
During racing, the sailors and teams will participate in pioneering ocean science projects, collecting important ocean data and water samples with on board scientific instruments. This information is fed into science organisations around the world studying ocean health and meteorology and contributes to the scientific community’s understanding of the pressures facing the ocean due to human activity.
Key timings
August 14
- 10am - 9pm - Ocean Live Park opening hours
- Midday to 7pm - ETA boats
- Midday to 9pm - Ocean Live Park programme starts
- 9pm - Ocean Live Park closes
August 15
- 10am - 9pm - Ocean Live Park opening hours
- 2.30pm to 9pm - Ocean Live Park programme starts
- 2.30pm to 3pm - Dock-Out Show Guest Sailing
- 3pm to 5pm - Pro AM Guest Sailing
- 6.15pm to 6.45am - Leg 1 - Kiel to Portsmouth Prize Giving
- 7pm to 9pm - Concert
- 9pm - Ocean Live Park closes
August 16
- 9am - 11am - Beach Clean with Final Straw Foundation
- 10am - 9pm - Ocean Live Park opening hours and programme starts
- 10am - 1pm - Pit Lane Tours
- 10am - 6pm - Fan day
- 9pm - Ocean Live Park closes
August 17
- 10am - 7pm - Ocean Live Park opening hours and programme starts
- 1.10pm - 1.30pm - Sailors Parade
- 1.30pm - 2pm - Dock-out Show
- 2pm - 4pm - Parade – Sail to Cowes
- 4.55pm - Leg 2 Start - from Portsmouth to Cartagena
- 6pm - 7pm - Concert
- 7pm - Ocean Live Park Closes
Portsmouth has played an important role in the storied history of The Ocean Race. Legend has it that arrangements for the precursor to the event, the Whitbread Round the World Race, were finalised over a pint of beer in a Portsmouth pub. The Race itself then started and/or finished from Portsmouth for its first four editions, and last returned to the city for a stopover in 2006.
UK sailing legends like Sir Chay Blyth, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Clare Francis, Tracy Edwards, Ian Walker and Simon Fisher, among many others, have burnished their sailing legacies from their achievements in the Race.
The Ocean Race follows hot on the heels of SailGP which saw a huge sailing village and spectator stands created in front of Southsea Common earlier this month. The Clipper 2025-26 Round the World Yacht Race also comes to Portsmouth on August 28-31.