Minister for Tourism Dr. Edward Zammit Lewis speech during the Rolex Middle Sea Race Award Giving ‘Malta will be marketed as an ideal destination where outdoor sports can be practiced all year round’ Honorable Ministers,Comodore Zammit, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to Malta for the 35th Rolex Middle Sea Race Award Giving Event. I would like to congratulate everyone who participated in this event and especially the Line Honours winner, Esimit Europa 2 and the Overall Winner, the Maltese boat Artie. It is with great pleasure to announce that this year proved to be another record year, with an exceptional number of 122 yachts from more than 20 countries, participating in this prestigious event, especially when one considers that it all started from just 8 entries in 1968! This year we saw a remarkable 24 per cent increase over last year’s number of boats. During this year’s event we have truly experienced a strong fleet of 14 super maxis, 111 international entries and 15 first-timers. I take the opportunity to thank previous overall and line honours and many supportive regulars for returning to the race. Malta’s strategic position in the Mediterranean and its natural harbours have always attracted foreign sea farers. There is great potential in this sector, due to our geographical position and our harbours. We, Maltese people are proud to host this challenging 607 nautical mile yachting event. The Rolex Middle Sea Race is now a firmly established offshore classic in Malta’s yearly calendar of events, starting and ending on our island. It forms part of the exclusive Rolex & Yachting prestigious programme. We have hosted a number of specialized journalists from top publications as well as international production teams from foreign TV stations, whose purpose is not only to follow this offshore classic race, but also to portray the history and panoramic beauty of our islands. This year’s ‘most beautiful race course in the world’ as described by the founder of cable news network CNN Ted Turner, has been reported to attract 400 million potential viewers who followed the race through BBC World, CNN and Eurosport.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 11:34:29 +0000
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