The World Yacht Racing Forum 2012 will take place in Copenhagen on December 11 and 12. Once again it will be the place where people can discuss the sport’s current issues and try to anticipate its future.
The debate starts here and now as the World Yacht Racing Forum introduces a monthly interview with one of the sport’s key personalities – Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad.
Note that you will also find the latest information available about the World Yacht Racing Forum at the end of this Newsletter. This includes an outline of what topics will be debated, who will attend the Forum and much more.
As the World Yacht Racing Forum’s official platform for debate, we would encourage you to send us your questions to bernard.schopfer@maxcomm.ch and we will present them to the right people and publish the best ones.
Based on the assumption that there are no bad questions, no forbidden topics and no secrets, our interviews will focus on the sport’s main events: the Volvo Ocean Race, Olympic Games, America’s Cup, IMOCA circuit and whoever makes it to the headlines. Those topics – and many more – will be further debated with their key personalities during the Forum.
Hard Talk #1. WYRF interviews Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad.
WYRF: Knut Frostad, during the World Yacht Racing Forum 2010, you said this edition would be the best ever. Has it delivered on its – your – promises?
Knut Frostad: Well, not in all areas: a bigger fleet would certainly have been good and this is one goal that we haven’t achieved. However, we are very pleased with the event in general, and with the interest it has generated considering the difficult times we live in.
WYRF: Do you mean because of the economic context or are there other reasons such as the impact of the new America’s Cup?
Knut Frostad: Mainly because of the world’s economy. All big sports events are struggling as we all depend on sponsorship. We have three ports in Europe, and the European market is important for us, which made it particularly hard.
WYRF: What consequences does the global economic downturn have for you, as an event organiser?
Knut Frostad: Well, we clearly have to be more creative with the host cities and smarter with our money. I can clearly say that this has been the most difficult Volvo Ocean Race to organize; however we have achieved what we wanted and our only challenge has been with the size of the fleet. On the other hand, our communication has made the event more attractive, and we have reached more people than ever.