Ocean Race: Victoria Harbour ideal stop for fleet and fans in 2021-22, says veteran Hong Kong sailor Karl Kwok
- Experienced skipper says Hong Kong should give them its best and the harbour is the ideal venue to hosts the boats
- Genoa, Italy is the fifth city to be confirmed for the 2021-22 edition, joining Alicante, Aarhus, The Hague and Cabo Verde
Veteran sailor Karl Kwok Chi-leung wants to showcase the best of Hong Kong amid negotiations for the city to stage a leg of the next Ocean Race – and he says nowhere is more iconic than Victoria Harbour.
Kwok, chairman of Hong Kong’s Major Events Sports Committee, said waterfront areas on either side of Victoria Harbour can play hosts to the fleet with plenty of onshore entertainment options for fans in the 2021-22 edition of the round-the-world race.
On Sunday, Ocean Race organisers announced Genoa, Italy, would be the final stop of the next event – one of five cities confirmed for the race. Negotiations with Hong Kong’s Home Affairs Bureau are continuing, with Kwok confident the city can deliver another memorable stop.
“Hong Kong is a very good turning point for the fleet to go south,” said Kwok. “They have tried to go to Qingdao [on the mainland] and it’s not very successful, in fact quite miserable. They tried Sanya but maybe found it a bit too rural.
“So [coming to Hong Kong] is more like a good commercial move. We have an advantage over other [Chinese] cities. If I were them [Ocean Race organisers], I would ask for the best.
