© Kiel-Marketing
At the Ocean Race Headquarters, Alicante
“We all sail in the same boat.”
The Kiel Marketing team represented the city of Kiel at the summit in Alicante. We brought along souvenirs from our partners Flensburger and Spielbank SH - a load of Flens crates for a North German Plop! and invitations to the pre-opening night at Casino Kiel. And: we had our unique Kiel storyline with us, which all participants from all over Europe ended up singing: We all sail in the same boat.
It all started in Kiel in November with snow and a trip on a steamer across the frosty Kiel Fjord. The destination: the headquarters of The Ocean Race 1973 S.L. in Alicante, where representatives of the European host cities of the Ocean Race Europe, various race teams and, of course, the Ocean Race hosts came together to present their programmes and learn from each other. And it was off to a 19-degree Mediterranean Sea. But more on that later.
Our team arrived at the hotel one by one, but before heading off for a fact-focused city tour (in the evening) and to the harbour headquarters (in the morning), we thought ... well, a royal group photo was appropriate. Do you know the Royal Tenenbaums? Well, keep calm and smile.
We had two days of talks, presentations, meetings, get-togethers and an Ocean Summit ahead of us.
After the Ocean Race Final 2021 and the fly-by in Kiel in June 2023, we were able to share a lot of experiences and prove that Kiel is a world sailing capital. Therefore, since February 2024, when Kiel.Sailing.City was awarded the contract as the starting port, all eyes have naturally been on our city. And since then, we have been working on this mega event and “we are looking forward to seeing lots of really happy faces when the race starts here in August” (Greta and Anjoscha in an interview).
Alicante is located south-west of Ibiza and north of Cartagena, one of the host cities of the Ocean Race Europe.
“And now the whole city is in Ocean Race fever!”
The morning after starts early. Greta goes swimming in the Kiel Fjord all year round anyway, but at 19° it's a bit easier for her to get into the dark Mediterranean water before the sun really rises.
© Kiel-Marketing
Meetings, greetings and one goal: to organise the Ocean Race Europe together.
We have been working on the organisation of the event in Kiel for eight months now. Starting with the development of a strategy to uniquely position the starting port of Kiel and, on this basis, to inspire the many people, companies, politicians in the city, state and federal government, associations and organisations, NGOs and scientists to come on board. Because only together will we be able to organise such a major project that will inspire millions of people worldwide and present Kiel.Sailing.City as a worthy host.
We walk from the hotel along the palm-lined promenade to the harbour and The Ocean Race Headquarters, passing an Ocean Race yacht in the middle of the intersection. Cast off.
© Kiel-Marketing
“There’s nothing like it. It gets in your blood and you can’t get rid of it.”
Sir Peter Blake
Aristotle is quoted as saying that there are three kinds of people: the living, the dead and those who go to sea. And there are those on land who make sure that teams keep crossing the oceans in thrilling races.
"Hola, hello, hey, hi ..." There are dozens of people from all over the world working at the headquarters. Not all of them are always on site, many work remotely. But everyone is united by their work. In addition to the original Ocean Race, which runs once around the globe and will start again in 2027, the second edition of the Ocean Jahre Europe will take place in 2025, followed by the Ocean Race Atlantic from New York to Barcelona in 2026.
The Kiel marketing team is now looking forward all the more to the start in Kiel.Sailing.City in August. There is still a lot of work ahead of us. But together with the teams in Alicante and throughout Europe, it will simply be a mega event. To put it with a certain royal touch: “There's nothing like it!”
© Kiel-Marketing
Ocean Summit Alicante
© Kiel-Marketing GmbH
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