Everything is ready for the eleventh edition of the Venice Hospitality Challenge: born from an intuition of Mirko Sguario, president of the Venice Yacht Club and patron of the event, this regatta is considered the Grand Prix of the City of Venice since it is the only one whose route it winds entirely in the internal waters of the Serenissima; Thanks to its formula that brings together the great sailing of maxi yachts with the elite of Venetian hospitality, the “Hotel Regatta” continues to grow in prestige and popularity, attracting an ever-larger audience and providing a significant boost to Venetian tourism.
The start will be marked, as per tradition, with the powerful jets of water from the tugboats near Punta della Dogana, on Saturday 19 October at 1.00 pm, giving life to a great show with boats over 24 meters long, engaged in difficult maneuvers along the banks of the San Marco basin. The public will be able to admire up close not only the regatta but also the boats moored to a floating pier located in the Giudecca Canal thanks to the collaboration of the VAC Foundation, the Port Authority and the Port Authority. The pier, over 75 meters long and named in memory of the builder Renzo Rossi, will also be the headquarters of the event.
Sport and lifestyle together once again for an extraordinary event that brings together in Venice every year a fleet of maxi yachts protagonists of unforgettable pages of sailing sport combined with equally excellent Venetian hotels. The teams, led by internationally renowned skippers, will compete on the regatta field to compete for the coveted Doge’s hat, specially made by a historic Murano glass factory.
Venice Hospitality Challenge supports the culture of prevention and has long supported the Italian League for the fight against cancer: a maxi yacht will compete for LILT while the Vaporetto Rosa, a hybrid vessel with low environmental impact, will accompany the regatta to remember the importance of prevention for breast cancer. The commitment to the environment was also confirmed with the supply to the crews of clothing obtained from the recycling of plastic bottles from Mureadritta.
«Venice Hospitality Challenge is not just a spectacular regatta, it is a celebration of the vital relationship that links the Serenissima to the sea and tourism – stated Sguario -. In no other seaside city in the world is it possible to see these maxi racing up close. This is the originality of the Venice Hospitality Challenge: our Venice once again becomes a setting of uniqueness. We hope that events of this caliber will encourage a redevelopment of the type of tourism that Venice attracts: excellent, respectful and sustainable.”
Fabrizio D’Oria, operational director of Vela spa and organizational director of the Venice Nautical Show added: «As a Show we work to keep a common thread all year round about boating and the Venice Hospitality Challenge, for the quality it expresses, is one of the events tip of this continuous schedule.”
Tourism councilor Simone Venturini underlined the importance of the regatta for Venice: «High-level events like this create a path of cohesion with the community and qualify Venice by reminding the world of a thousand-year-old maritime tradition and the excellence of its hospitality» .
