Organisers of The
Ocean Race have confirmed
Kiel.Sailing.City as the host of the
start of The Ocean Race Europe
during a press conference in Kiel on
Wednesday morning. The event is
scheduled to start on 10 August,
2025. Previously, Kiel was the
finish port of the Volvo Ocean Race
2001-02 and last year the German
city hosted a hugely successful
Fly-By on the penultimate leg of The
Ocean Race 2022-23. Two teams were
represented at the media event in
Kiel on Wednesday - Team Malizia and
Team Holcim-PRB - and both confirmed
their intention to be on the
starting line.
The race in 2025 will be the second
edition of The Ocean Race Europe,
following a debut event in the
summer of 2021. This event will
build on the foundations of the
inaugural race and will be held
under the banner of “Connecting
Europe” with a race course that
stretches from the Baltic Sea,
through the North Sea and English
Channel, into the Atlantic Ocean
before a finish in the Mediterranean
Sea. Racing will take place in the
newest generation of high-tech IMOCA
boats that foil above the water at
record-breaking speeds.
“Starting The Ocean Race Europe from
Kiel is an opportunity to
demonstrate the power of sport to
connect us and serve a larger
purpose,” said Richard Brisius, Race
Chairman of The Ocean Race.
“I have no doubt that the
cutting-edge, foiling IMOCA boats
and the extraordinary women and men
who sail them will produce an
exceptional race on the water and an
incredible experience for race fans
in Kiel, a two-time host of sailing
at the Olympic Games and a city
whose Kiel Week regatta has become
world-renowned as the home of the
largest sailing event in Europe.
“But we are determined for The Ocean
Race Europe to be more than a great
sailing race. All of us here today
are firm in our belief that we are
in a Race for the Ocean, that the
restoration of ocean health is key
to life on our planet.
“This Race for the Ocean is also
about creating real changes in
policy for the Ocean, calling for a
reset in the relationship between
humanity and the Ocean. Initiatives
around The Ocean Race Europe will
support learning initiatives for
race fans and school children while
our on board science programme will
collect data from the race boats for
experts to analyse as they continue
to learn about the changes taking
place in our waters, from the Baltic
Sea in northern Europe to the
Mediterranean in the South.”
“Having the data gathered by the
sailors in The Ocean Race is
incredibly useful for our studies.
The ocean is generally undersampled
and in places like the Southern
Ocean this is especially the case,
so this allows us to learn about the
ocean and how it is changing over
time and feeds into predictive
models as well,” confirmed Léa
Olivier, a researcher with the
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz
Centre for Polar and Marine Research
who is one of the scientists using
the data collected during The Ocean
Race.
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Racing is scheduled to start on 10
August 2025 from Kiel and finish in
the Mediterranean Sea approximately
six weeks later, depending on the
final race route. More city
announcements are anticipated this
spring.
“The enthusiasm for sailing is
evident in Kiel year after year,
with many local regattas and of
course during the internationally
renowned, Kiel Week,” said Dr. Ulf
Kämpfer, the Lord Mayor of Kiel.
“Last year we were able to welcome
The Ocean Race with a Fly-By - a
brilliant success that proved once
again that this city lives and loves
sailing. The fact that we will now
be the starting port of The Ocean
Race Europe 2025 makes me incredibly
proud.
“Our aim is to combine this event
with the topic of ocean health and
protection. We are really looking
forward to hosting the top sailors
from all over the world and proving
once again that Kiel.Sailing.City is
the world capital of sailing.”
For Boris Herrmann, the German
skipper of Team Malizia, the Fly-By
in Kiel last summer was a highlight
of The Ocean Race. Now he says he is
looking forward to starting The
Ocean Race Europe from
Kiel.Sailing.City.
“We are all really happy and excited
to have The Ocean Race Europe
starting in Kiel next year! Kiel
feels like home to me and I grew up
sailing here over the years. It’s
also home to Geomar (one of the
world's leading institutions in
marine research) and our science
partners. This will be an amazing
chance for the public to come and
meet the team, see the boat and get
in touch with our education
programme in 2025. For me and Team
Malizia this is a great announcement
and we can’t wait to compete in the
race!”
Rosalin ‘Rosie’ Kuiper, who joined
Team Holcim-PRB after racing around
the world with Team Malizia last
year, participated on Wednesday via
video link from Holcim headquarters
in Switzerland. “Germany is such a
big part of The Ocean Race and
remembering the crowds who came out
to support us on Malizia for the
Fly-By in Kiel is amazing, so to
hear we will be starting from Kiel
is great news.” she said. “Later
this year we will start our crew
selection process for the new team
and I hope to be on the starting
line in 2025 with a happy, strong,
diverse team so that Boris will tap
me on the shoulder and say, ‘nice
job’!”
The Ocean Race Europe will have the
support of the EU Mission - Restore
our Ocean and Waters, an initiative
to raise awareness about the Ocean
and protect it from current
challenges.
“Let me first congratulate the whole
team of the Ocean Race and greet and
thank the Mayor of Kiel for hosting
this important event and for joining
us in our Mission to Restore our
Ocean and Waters by 2030,” said
Elisabetta Balzi, Head of Unit,
European Commission, DG Research &
Innovation, Healthy Oceans & Seas.
“By connecting the people and places
where the transitions need to happen
with the necessary solutions and
knowledge, the Mission is giving
cities, and broadly speaking
citizens, an enabling capacity to
manage and accelerate the
challenging transitions which
require urgent actions,” she
concluded.
“The incredible response to The
Ocean Race Fly-By last summer, the
thousands of visitors from Kiel and
the Kiel region, we have proven that
there is a big appetite for such an
event,” said Uwe Wanger, the
Managing Director of Kiel-Marketing.
“Planning and implementing it was a
big challenge for us. But the global
attention, the media coverage from
around the world, the visitors on
site and the overwhelmingly positive
response from partners and
stakeholders was a great reward and
a powerful incentive to bring The
Ocean Race Europe to Kiel in 2025.
Now it’s time to get everyone on
board again and build enthusiasm for
this new opportunity.”
“Schleswig-Holstein and world-class
sailing are inseparable. That's why
I'm really pleased that Kiel will be
hosting the start of The Ocean Race
Europe 2025 next year,” said
Magdalena Finke, State Secretary in
the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of
the Interior. “This is going to be
very positive for our sports region
Schleswig-Holstein, and also a great
organisational challenge that we at
the Ministry of the Interior
responsible for sport will fully
support to ensure we are able to
celebrate a sailing event on the
fjord that is recognised worldwide
as an unforgettable experience for
everyone involved.”
Release: The Ocean
Race 1973 S.L.U., Alicante, Spain