The CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race and An Taoiseach will today sign the contract confirming Galway as host of the grand finale of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2012. Mr Knut Frostad will meet with Brian Cowen at The Merrion Hotel in Dublin this afternoon to copper-fasten the event after Galway beat off stiff competition from Amsterdam and Stockholm to host the prestigious stop.

The meeting brings to an end the months of discussions and political lobbying that have gone into Galway's bid to secure the lucrative contract. Last year's event generated €56.5 million for the local economy and prompted 650,000 visits to the city.

Speaking to the Galway Independent this week, Galway Harbourmaster, Captain Brian Sheridan said the city was preparing to eclipse those figures.

"I certainly think that the 2012 event will be greater than last year's – should we get the go-ahead," said Captain Sheridan. "We think that the attendance will be higher and that the corporate side of things will be infinitely bigger.

"We have shown that Galway has the X factor to host these events and, with more boats coming this time around, and the added space afforded by the lack of a service area, it should be a special festival."

General Manager of Fáilte Ireland West, Fiona Monaghan was equally enthusiastic about the announcement, saying it was "the ultimate prize" for the city.

"The impact of the publicity of this event cannot be underestimated. The race will be referred to as the Alicante to Galway Race and the coverage we will get as a result is priceless.

"This announcement is a huge ray of hope for all businesses in the city. During the current tough times this will give our businesses a competitive edge over the rest."

As revealed in last week's Galway Independent, the Galway stopover will involve at least one race, but details of the race will not be confirmed until a later date. However, an Around Ireland leg starting and finishing in Galway Bay remains a real possibility.

The Chairman of Let's Do It Galway, John Killeen remained anxious ahead of the announcement, but was expecting a positive result.

"I think we have gotten the nod, but you are never happy until the ink is dried on the contract," said Mr Killeen. "We had a few small issues to iron out before all was agreed, but it is nearly across the line now.

"We hope that Minister Éamon O Cuív is there along with the Taoiseach to make the announcement. He did Trojan work on our behalf when the chips were down and if anyone deserves to make the announcement it is him."

Comments (1) »

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written by John Dix, March 13, 2010

Great news for Galway.I was photographing Steve Earle recently told him about the 6000 singing Galway Girl in the docks.Flick through the pages of my photo-book:Google Galway Volvo Ocean Race by John Dix and follow the link to Blurb.com

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