During the Venice Boat Show, the 6thedition of the Venice Hospitality Challenge was presented. The highly anticipated Grand Prix of the City of Venice will be back on October 19, to bring true excitement to participants and spectators with the only regatta held in the internal waters of a city, and one of the most renowned in the world: Venice, also known as “La Serenissima”.
Bringing together the worlds of sport, luxury and lifestyle, the competition will see the participation of Maxi Yachts that have written unforgettable pages in the history of sailing, paired with well-known high-class Venice hotels. Led by internationally renowned skippers, the Teams will take water to compete for the Doge’s hat, specifically created for the occasion by traditional Murano glassmaker Massimiliano Schiavon Art Team.
Hotels taking part in this 6thedition will include Hilton Molino Stucky Venice; Hotel Danieli, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice; Belmond Hotel Cipriani; SINA Centurion Palace; Palazzina; The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice; Ca’ Sagredo Hotel; Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido Resort; The St. Regis Venice; JW Marriott Venice & Resort Spa, joined this year by Bauer Palazzo, San Clemente Palace Kempinski, and Hotel Londra Palace, with the special participation of the Alajmo family, a symbol of premium Italian cuisine.
An exceptional judge for an exceptional race
Such an elite international competition could not but be refereed by a unique international judge: Alfredo Ricci, born 1970, rewarded of a Stella d’Oro recognition for his sports achievements by CONI (the Italian National Olympic Committee), International Umpire, International Judge, and member of the Regatta Committee – the only Italian race official to count all three titles. From the America’s Cup and Olympic Games sailing race courses, he will head to Venice to chair the Venice Hospitality Challenge Committee alongside Emilia Barbieri and Giancarlo Frizzarin, who have been on board right since the first edition.
Venice Hospitality Challenge and One Ocean Foundation
During this edition of the Venice Hospitality Challenge, the Venice Yacht Club, promoter of the race, will speak up for the ocean protection goals pursued by One Ocean Foundation, an international project born in March 2018 out of an idea by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS), directly interested in marine environment preservation. The Venice Yacht Club’s commitment was shared by the Municipality of the city, and publicly funded by Venice’s Councilor for the Environment and Sustainability Massimiliano De Martin, who signed the Charta Smeralda, a code of ethics walking individuals and organizations through the adoption of common behaviors in order to protect the environment. This innovative document is publicly accessible on the website http://www.1ocean.org
Our mission is to promote the preservation of our waters with projects and initiatives that see synergies happen between institutions, businesses and citizens
commented One Ocean Foundation’s vice president Riccardo Bonadeo
and we’re honored to carry out our mission with the support of mayor Luigi Brugnaro and councilor Massimiliano De Martin of the municipality of Venice, a city that has always relied on the sea as its strength, and that has renewed its commitment to protect waters by signing the Charta Smeralda
The race is scheduled to begin at 1:30 pm on Saturday, October 19. The fleet will be moored at Marina Santelena, while the San Marco basin, crucial point of the course, will enable the audience to follow this spectacular competition from the shore. The award ceremony will take place on the Zattere quay at the Venice Yacht Pier at around 4:30pm, and will be open to the public. It will end with an exclusive private event to celebrate the crews and partner hotels, in line with the spirit of elegance and style for which this unique race stands out all around the world.
Introduced in 2014, the Venice Hospitality Challenge brilliantly celebrated its first 5 years, and is shipping with full sails across our lagoon towards its 6thedition. The peculiarity of this race is that it involves boats with a minimum length of 60 feet that compete in a city circuit
highlights Mirko Sguario, creator and organizer of the event and President of the Venice Yacht Club.
This is why I strongly desired for this race to also be named ‘Grand Prix of the City of Venice’ – because I think our city doesn’t only have exhibition potential, but also the ability to attract the sailing elite
As Paola De Marchi of Generali Italia remarked
this year, Generali Italia will once again renew its support to the Venice Hospitality Challenge, an event devoted to sport, wellbeing and nature in Venice, which our company has always particularly treasured. We wish to remain life partners of the city, its citizens, and all those who love it
Last edition saw the overall title go to Spirit of Portopiccolo – Ca’ Sagredo, thanks to an excellent start and conduct of the race by skipper Furio Benussi. The second to cross the finish line was Way of Life– The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel Venice, steered by Gaspar Vincec, while the third overall place and the first in class 2 were taken by Penderono VI– Hilton Molino Stucky, steered by Lorenzo Bodini.
Venice Hospitality Challenge 2018
photo © Matteo Bertolin
The 2019 Venice Hospitality Challenge will be held under the high patronage of the Municipality of Venice, with the support of prestigious sponsors like Generali Italia, ChampagneMoët & Chandon, and BMW Italia. Sustainability Partner of the event will be One Ocean Foundation, while Media Partners will include Barche, Excellence Magazine Luxury, Wonder World, Wonder Cortina and Venezia Made in Veneto, plus precious collaborators Alilaguna, CMV Panfido, Venezia Unica, VYP Venice Yacht Pier and Ve.La.
