Gladiator,TP52,CSA 1,
In the build up to Antigua Sailing Week’s golden anniversary in 2017, media interest from around the world has been exceptional thanks to the high profile of the event amongst sailors and press alike and the quality of the fleet on the water.
This year’s event is attracting incredible media response thanks to the collaboration of Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority, Antigua Sailing Week (ASW) and Virgin Atlantic. The result has been a larger than ever press contingency, putting Antigua and the 49th edition of Antigua Sailing Week well and truly in the limelight and on the radar of high profile media outlets globally.
“Getting involved in Antigua Sailing Week was an easy decision for us,” said Andre Bello, Virgin Atlantic’s Head of the Caribbean. “The combination of skill, teamwork and fun is deeply connected to our values as a company, and we’re proud to be onboard.”
With boats competing from 20 different countries including: UK, USA, Netherlands, Argentina, Lithuania, Brazil, Russia and Australia and crews from many more, this really has become the ‘must do’ regatta of the Caribbean racing circuit. There’s something about the regatta that attracts sailors, spectators and tourists to return year after year, but it also captures the imagination of ‘Virgin’ visitors who’ve heard what Antigua as a destination, and Sailing Week has to offer.
Around 25 press from Canada, UK, USA, Scandinavia, France and Canada are in Antigua to cover the action on and off the water and have been flown in by Virgin Atlantic, enabling them to experience the regatta first hand and to help spread the word even further.
They include consumer, lifestyle and specialist sailing journalists writing features, as well as top bloggers with thousands of followers, world-class photographers distributing awesome images from the Week, and TV broadcasters Media. Around 35 other media, including local press and those unable to attend from countries like Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, have also signed up to receive the daily race reports, the ASW video edits and photographs, and to follow the event on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
“We’ve had an incredible response to the Antigua Sailing Week video uploaded on Sunday evening with views of 46,000 in 24 hours!” says Alison Sly-Adams, ASW Commercial Director.
As the Virgin Atlantic Airways slogan states: ‘Life doesn’t come to you so go to it’. This is something that the 1,000 sailors competing in Antigua Sailing Week can relate to and one in particular, Antigua’s Bernie Evan-Wong, racing Team TAZ – Conviction: “This is just amazing; the speed and the excitement of racing on this boat is incredible in this regatta – to me this is a dream. I’m living my dream….”
