Sailing: New Zealand government denies MIQ seats for SailGP in Christchurch

Another international sporting event was canceled after being denied seats at MIQ by the New Zealand government.

The first round of the Christchurch Sail GP, scheduled for late January next year, failed to secure the 160 or so MIQ places needed.

The event was to attract hundreds of millions of viewers around the world.

In a statement, SailGP confirmed that its request for access to MIQ’s facilities for its teams and staff to enter New Zealand had been rejected by the government.

“The access request submitted by SailGP included the eight national teams participating in the World Sports Championship as well as the minimum number of specialist personnel required to successfully organize the event,” the statement said.

“The health and safety of all New Zealanders, athletes and SailGP staff is of the utmost importance, and no special allowance or consideration has been requested by SailGP.

“All other SailGP Season 2 Championship events are continuing as planned.

“SailGP and Christchurch NZ also remain committed to bringing SailGP to Christchurch, including the social and economic benefits it would bring, and are in talks with the New Zealand government to allow Christchurch to host SailGP events in the future. “

Event director Karl Budge, who was also tournament director for the ASB Classic, which was canceled for the second year in a row, said the sailing competition was still determined to host an event in Nova Scotia. Zealand.

“Christchurch was a place we were really excited about,” he said. Newstalk ZB. “It was probably the place that would give us the opportunity to live our dream; what we wanted to offer as a spectacle sport.

“The fans were going to be so close to the boats and the actual course. It was going to offer something quite special. We certainly remain incredibly keen to bring an event to Christchurch.

“I know Pete (Peter Burling) and Blair [Tuke] and the New Zealand team were incredibly excited to be able to bring what we think is the most exciting sailing property in the world to New Zealand and to be able to race in front of their own home fans would be something we would all appreciate. “

Budge added that the economic benefits to Christchurch and New Zealand would have run into the millions.

“A significant seven-digit number and something that we’re incredibly proud of as a world league. The impact we were going to have on the cities we go to is pretty significant, both in terms of the direct economic response, of global media coverage but also accelerating change towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.

“We are very proud of the property that we are bringing to the market and look forward to having the opportunity to bring it back to Christchurch in due course.”

SailGP is the brainchild of billionaire Oracle owner Larry Ellison and Sir Russell Coutts.

In Season 1, SailGP events had an average direct economic impact on host cities of $ 32 million and were broadcast to a total global audience of 256 million.