Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper Celebrates Podium Position at end of Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race
The crew of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper celebrated a well deserved third place podium finish at the end of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race in Liverpool today, Saturday 5 July.
Glasgow’s Deputy Lord Provost Allan Stewart and Councillor James Dornan – representing the Board of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau - were on hand to congratulate the crew on their return to dry land after their 10 month, 35,000-mile voyage which began in Liverpool back in September last year.
The Glasgow: Scotland with style yacht, skippered by Hannah Jenner, endured a gruelling competition against a formidable international field including Liverpool, Durban in South Africa; Singapore; Fremantle in Western Australia; Qingdao in China and New York.
The 68ft yacht has acted as a floating billboard for the city during its voyage and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau has capitalised on this sponsorship through complementary marketing activity in key ports around the world.
To date, media coverage of the 07-08 Race has been seen by 354.4 million people which is equivalent to £30 million in advertising.*
Deputy Lord Provost, Bailie Allan Stewart, said:
"It's a great result for the Clipper and for Glasgow and Scotland. It's been an absolutely thrilling race and the crew have shown true seamanship and resilience."
Scott Taylor, Chief Executive of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said:
“I would like to warmly congratulate the crew of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper on such a magnificent achievement.
“The work undertaken by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau in the various ports of call of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race is vital to the positioning of Glasgow as one of Europe’s most dynamic and diverse cities in overseas markets.
“Glasgow competes aggressively in the global marketplace for tourism and inward investment and sponsorship of the Clipper is one of the ways we keep the city front of mind internationally. In competing in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, Glasgow is in the company of major world cities such as New York and Singapore and we are tremendously proud to be part of it.”
This is the fourth Clipper Round the World yacht race that Glasgow has sponsored, having had a boat in the 07-08, 05-06, 03-04 and 01-02 competitions. The third place finish in 07-08 is the highest ever placing for a Glasgow boat. New York finished in first place and Hull & Humber finished second. Full details of all the finishing positions are available at www.clipperroundtheworld.com
Activity undertaken by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau in key ports of call include a reception in New York in June 2008 targeting media, business contacts, GlobalScots and alumni from Glasgow’s universities with messages about new developments in the city including Glasgow’s programme for Homecoming 2009 and the massive investment in infrastructure taking place as the city gears up to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
In January, a similar reception was held at Keppel Marina in Singapore. Hosted by the British High Commissioner to Singapore, His Excellency Mr. Paul Madden, the reception again saw media, business contacts, GlobalScots and alumni gather to hear about new developments in Glasgow and, in particular, how they could assist Glasgow City Marketing Bureau in the drive to win conferences for the city.
Quite apart from these initiatives, the skipper and crew of the Glasgow: Scotland with style have proved excellent ambassadors for the city, proudly donning their Glasgow: Scotland with style tartan kilts in every port of call to enthusiastic receptions.
ENDS
Issued by and further information from:
Caroline Gray – PR Manager, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau
Tel: +44 (0)141 566 0832
Email: caroline.gray@seeglasgow.com
Note to editors
* These figures have been taken from the interim evaluation report from Clipper Ventures Plc. The complete evaluation will be available in due course.