Preparations in full swing for Volvo Ocean Race stopover at Cochin Port

Cochin Port, Aug.1 : Preparations are in full swing at Cochin Port to welcome the India stopover of World famous sailing Olympics 'Volvo Ocean Race'.

Cochin Port Trust is gearing up to host the prestigious India Stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race, considered to be the ultimate in extreme adventure sport.

According to the Director Planning and Operations Jeremy Troughton, the event would offer unparalleled global visibility to Cochin Port.

Known to be one of the world's most exciting sporting events, the 'Volvo Ocean Race' will stopover in India for the first time in the event's 35-year history.

Recently, the Volvo Ocean Race's officials visited the Cochin Port to take stock of possibilities here and found it satisfactory.

Jack Lloyd, the Racing Director, who was in taking the stock of all the preparations at the port, added that this for the first time in the history of the race to head towards North that too to India.

This spectacular ocean marathon will have its stopover in Cochin from December 3 to 13, making it the first Asian port that the Race will visit.

"The port is working hard to see all possible action to make the 10-day Stopover a memorable event," said N. Ramachandarn, the Chairman of Cochin Port Trust.

Volvo Ocean Race is expected to be watched by over 1.8 billion television viewers in over 180 countries, which puts the Volvo Ocean Race among the 20 largest sports events in terms of global media coverage, at par with the World Soccer Championships and the Olympic Games.

A sum of rupees 30 crores (Rs. 300 million) will be spent for the infrastructure development and up gradation of the public facilities in Willingdon Island at Cochin Port Trust for a smooth conduct of the event.

The most important activity, however, is the construction of the Race Village and the Team Area in the Port premises, which among others, will have a state of the art media center.

It will cater to the needs of hundreds of global and national media persons, from the print, broadcast and new media sectors.

Another attraction would be the 600 square meter exhibition pavilion, which will function as a major area for public participation in the Stopover period for various activities.

Food courts serving multiple global cuisines will be another major attraction during the stopover.

A few of the major business groups, who confirmed their sponsorship in the event, include Erricson, Puma, Telephonica. By Juhan Samuel

ANI