Volvo Festival worth over 100 million euros to Galway City and region
Jul
8
Written by:
08/07/2012 16:37
Volvo Festival worth over 100 million euros to Galway City and region
The Volvo Ocean Race finale and festival, which concluded in Galway today (Sunday, July 8th) broke all attendance records for a sporting event in Ireland and is likely to be worth in excess €100 million in tourism and business income to the city and the region.
Official figures released by “Let’s do it Global”, organisers of the 9 day festival; show that there were 820,500 visits to the events taking place during the first eight days of the festival. Final attendance figures will be available tomorrow.The indications are that it will exceed 900,000 visits.
The organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race and the local organizing, committee “Let’s do it Global”, have described the race finale and the associated festival built around it as “stunning”, “dramatic” and “unforgettable”.
Jon Bramley, for the Volvo Ocean Race said “It has been a truly memorable week in Galway. We were stunned by the passion and enthusiasm for the people of Galway and Ireland for our race and the fact that so many stayed in the rain until 05.30 in the morning on Tuesday to see all the boats come in said it all.”
“ We thought that 2009 would take some beating after Galway gave us such a welcome but I believe that we exceeded even that reception this time round. It seems that the Volvo Ocean Race and this wonderful, historic city and its people have a very special relationship."
John Killeen, President of “Let’s do it Global”, said the event had been a phenomenal success and had shown, once again, that Galway has the capacity to organise the biggest maritime event of its kind in the world – in a way that made the world look on in admiration and amazement.
He said “This has been a great week in Galway’s history and we hope that it has shown the city just how significant an impact can make in the world by daring to take on the challenge of organising such a huge global event and succeeding”
“The effort and the commitment of the small team of people who seizedthe opportunity to put Galway on the global stage and the hard work of the 1,500 volunteers who made it all possible has been one of the most inspiring things to have happened in our city for many years. We are very proud of those who helped us achieve such a stunning success “.
The Mayor Terry O'Flaherty has joined in the congratulations to the organisers. In a statement she said
"Today, we come to the end of what have been among the most fantastic days our city has ever seen. As the Volvo Ocean Race Finalé Festival concludes, I would like to convey my sense of pride in what has been achieved over the last nine days. As well as welcoming the six different skippers and crews of the Volvo Ocean Race, the people of Galway welcomed hundreds of thousands of new visitors from home and abroad to our city.
Our friends in Let's Do It Global, its staff and volunteer army have carried off a magnificent feat of organisation in both the Race Village and the Global Village and their sterling work has paid off.
The various bodies working in both the public and private sectors along with community and sporting organisations all came together to make 'The Volvo' a huge success. Galway City Council is also extremely proud of its contribution on all levels from councillors through to management and staff working all hours alongside the Let's Do It Global team to put our best face forward to the world.
Three years ago, the Volvo Ocean Race sailed into the heart of our city. Last Monday night, they found us again and sailed right back into our hearts. We were happy to meet; we are sorry to part. May you find us again."
The President of Galway Chamber of Commerce, Declan Dooley, said this evening, "The Volvo Ocean Race finale has been a phenomenal success for Galway. The crowds of people that attended the dozens of organised events and concerts in the race village throughout the entire week far exceeded even the most optimistic predictions.
The Global Village was also an outstanding success with tens of thousands of people visiting the various exhibitions and conferences each day. The hundreds of thousands of people who packed the streets of Galway from early each morning to late at night created an amazing party atmosphere.
The economic benefit to Galway and the whole region is likely to exceed a hundred million euro, which is a phenomenal boost to business.
Galway Chamber of Commerce congratulates the organisers, Let's Do it Global, and the people of Galway who deserve a standing ovation. And as President of Galway Chamber, I hope we can now build on the momentum of the Volvo Ocean Race and get our new Port built as soon as possible.
I acknowledge an Taoiseach Enda Kenny's declaration of his support for the development of the new port of Galway, when he visited the Volvo Ocean Race and witnessed firsthand what Galway could do given proper facilities”.