Thousands of people gathered at the Race Village, spread over two acres. The Race Village will be the focus of the events over the next 10 days as it will host an exhibition and lifestyle shows. Knut Frostad, Chief Executive Officer of Volvo Event Management, UK, said that the reception for the racers at Kochi was warm and its facilities were second to none.

Kochi, the second stopover port for the Volvo Ocean Race was all geared up to welcome the eight competing yachts when they arrived here yesterday. Kerala is regarded as among the most exotic destinations for this year’s edition of the race and a series of events have been lined up at the Race Village coming up in Willingdon Island.

Excitement ahead
The 10-day stopover will create a festive mood at the island, the centre stage of numerous activities. Apart from cultural events, which will include a mini-pooram, kathakali, kalaripayattu and other Kerala art forms, there will be a microlite flight and sky-diving show, performances by a fusion band, a snake boat race and a Navy cup regatta.

Besides this eclectic mix of land, water and air-borne performances, there will also be opportunities for the public to interact with the sailors.A school programme and a day with the skipper/crew will give the opportunity to the local youth to come down to the race village, see the sailors and their boats.

The public will also get a chance to experience the feel of sailing, at the race’s Experience Zone pavilion which will house a simulator. The other activities lined up include an inter-collegiate fashion show, an ensemble of folk arts, instrumental music and a fireworks demo.

A Kerala business conclave will also be set up for networking firms. The official events include the arrival ceremony, followed by the blessing of the fleet, which will be a multi-religious event. Then, there would be the departure function and the beginning of Leg 3. The stopover will be a great photo opportunity for the public who will see the Port abuzz with big and small sailing craft.