The Ocean Race (formerly Volvo Ocean Race) has announced that the race will once again stop in The Hague during its next edition of the race.
The Ocean Race will visit The Hague for a third consecutive time when the next edition of the event stops in the Netherlands in Q2 of 2022
The Hague joins the Race’s home port of Alicante, and Danish sailing hotspot Aarhus as confirmed destinations in the next edition.
After hosting the race during the last two edition’s, it is still unclear if the race will return to Newport. The Host City procurement process for the 2021-22 edition of The Ocean Race is concluding and more venues will be announced in the coming weeks, followed by the full Race Route.
The Race first stopped in The Hague with a ‘pitstop’ on the final leg of the 2014-15 edition. In the last race, The Hague was billed as the Ultimate Destination, and as the finish port it was the scene of the closest finish in Race history, with three teams pushing towards the finishing line on equal points. Dongfeng Racing Team, with local hero Carolijn Brouwer on board, emerged victorious, while Dutch entry Team Brunel secured an overall race podium place.
The Netherlands has had a strong presence in the event since the early days of the Whitbread Round the World Race when Connie Van Rietschoten won back to back victories in the 1977-78 and 1981-82 editions of the event. To this day, he is the only skipper to claim two victories in the Race.
More recently, Bouwe Bekking has been a Race stalwart, competing in eight editions, and currently looking to put a campaign together for a ninth attempt.
The 2017-18 finish in The Hague saw over 335,000 people visit the Race Village as well as 35,000 corporate guests and 400 local and international media.
More info on the race at www.theoceanrace.com.