As Spain raised the trophy at the SailGP Season 4 Grand Final in San Francisco, the global racing championship concluded an epic calendar of new growth records, purpose-driven milestones and an expanding international fan-base powering the league into the future.
The season of racing has cemented SailGP’s status as one of the fastest-growing sports and entertainment properties in the world, featuring the largest fleet to date – 10 teams on the startline – the league’s most expansive calendar with 13 iconic global locations on the map, and an increase to the total prize pot of US $7M up for grabs.
All Eyes On…
SailGP’s global reach and digital appeal flourished in Season 4, with the league’s dedicated global broadcast audience seeing a 48% increase to 193M across the season. The league made a significant impact in the US market, including the highest broadcast audience for a sailing event in 30 years, with 1.78M tuning into the Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía-Cádiz on CBS.
Digital consumption of SailGP also raced ahead, with a 5x increase in social media video views to over 1.4 billion across all channels. The league more than doubled total social media engagements. In Season 4, SailGP’s cumulative social following grew to more than 3.45 million fans, up from 1.55 million at the end of Season 3. YouTube views also increased substantially, growing from 37M in Season 3 to 157M in Season 4, with 430,000 followers on the platform – marking SailGP’s status as the sport’s number one property online. In line with market trends, TikTok was the fastest-growing social channel, with the league surpassing 545,000 followers on the platform. A viral clip of Black Foils’ grinder Marcus Hansen being swiped overboard in New York hit 76.2M viral views on Instagram.
More than 200,000 ticketed spectators experienced the most exciting racing on water first-hand at SailGP events, including the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch, which welcomed more than 20,000 fans across the weekend, confirming its status as the largest-ever ticketed sailing event. Fans were also brought closer to the action than ever before thanks to cutting-edge technology, including new 5G-powered onboard cameras and the launch of fan-first Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) features in the SailGP app to heighten the experience for those watching onshore.
Leading with purpose
SailGP’s dedication to driving impactful environmental and social change accelerated in Season 4, with the delivery of ten entirely clean energy events of the 13-event calendar. The Spain Sail Grand Prix marked the first-ever 100% clean energy event powered by sustainable fuel on-water, saving 13 tCO2e per event compared to use of fossil fuel equivalent.
SailGP also celebrated the third iteration of sport’s first-ever podium for the planet – the Impact League – crowning a new winner, Emirates GBR. Forty focus area projects were delivered globally as part of the initiative to track teams’ efforts to reduce their environmental footprint and promote inclusivity in sailing – with other global sporting leagues now taking up the pioneering concept.
Aligning with COP28, Season 4 also introduced the first-ever ‘Race for the Future’ takeover to demonstrate the power of sport to drive climate action. Alongside a stellar presence at the conference and ancillary events, the takeover saw the world’s largest temporary solar array installation ever at a sporting event – the size of six basketball courts – generating 70% of SailGP’s power in Dubai and saving 95% emissions compared to using ordinary diesel.
SailGP yet again accelerates progress to make sailing more inclusive, with a 42% increase in female athletes participating in competitive racing compared to Season 3, and a new Women’s Accelerator Program developed with global partner, Apex Group. Inspire, SailGP’s award-winning community outreach, youth racing and educational initiative, also engaged a further 7,647 young people across the season, bringing the total number of participants to 22,312 since Inspire’s inception in Season 1.
Leagues Ahead
Reflecting on the most impactful and action-packed season to date, Andrew Thompson, SailGP Managing Director, said: “Season 4 has been another record season for SailGP, and these numbers speak to our team’s dedication to building a major sports property fit for the future, and to SailGP athletes who continue to raise the caliber and level of competition across the fleet.”
“With significant growth in fan engagement and global reach, as well as further development of our product on and off the water, the forthcoming 2024-2025 season is set to be even bigger. and better, with new teams and an expanded presence in strategic markets around the world,” Thompson said.
SailGP’s 2024-2025 season will begin in November with the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas (November 23-24, 2024). Racing full circle around the globe, the season includes new events in Brazil, Germany, Switzerland and Auckland, as well as a return to Great Britain and New York. For the first time, 11 national teams will be on the startline, including the newly-acquired Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team, the league’s first in South America.
More thrills, more spills and more action, the upcoming season will also deliver even more fun by the water – building on SailGP’s hospitality offering, with exceptional food, live music and world-class entertainment. Ticket categories for all events will be announced in due course.
