SailGP officially set to return to Halifax in 2026

The international racing circuit SailGP is returning to Halifax in 2026.

SailGP will officially be returning to Halifax next year after the competition brought millions of dollars of revenue and tens of thousands of visitors to the city in 2024.

The competition released their first look at confirmed events for 2026 on Wednesday, with cities like Dubai, Rio de Janeiro, and New York. Halifax is the only Canadian confirmed event so far.

The return to the city comes after Canada was snubbed from the competition’s 2025 season schedule despite a very successful Canadian debut in Halifax the previous year.

In October, SailGP announced it would return to Canada in 2026, but did not confirm at that time if the host city would be Halifax, instead saying they would be taking bids from cities across the country. Halifax confirmed at that time the city would be bidding to host the competition again.

“We’ve had unprecedented interest from cities around the world, and SailGP is excited to release a first preview of what fans can expect from the 2026 Season,” said SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts in Wednesday’s announcement.

“That includes world-class racing in some of the most iconic stadium destinations we’ve visited to date, and extending our presence in Australia with a first-time event in Perth.”

The 2024 event was a big success for the city, bringing in more than $14 million in revenue and over 80,000 fans. TV audiences for some of the races even reached more than 749 million viewers.

The confirmed events for the 2026 season so far include:

• Perth, Australia in January
• Sydney, Australia in February
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in April
• Bermuda in May
• New York, USA in May
• Halifax in June
• Portsmouth, England in July
• Saint-Tropez, France in September
• Two stops in Dubai in November

SailGP says the full calendar, including remaining host cities and dates, will be confirmed “in due course.”

Halifax broke records

During SailGP’s last visit to Halifax, the city set a record with the fastest ticket sellout in the competition’s history.

“Selling out in 12 minutes. We had 50,000 people down on the waterfront. It broke the record for the most on-water spectating,” said Sarah Flanagan, Sail Nova Scotia president.

As far as next year’s racetrack, Bill Gooderham says it depends on the winds.

“If it’s the wind direction coming from the narrows like we saw last time with the event here, then it’s that same course … and if it’s the wind direction coming from the ocean, then we start on this side (Halifax) and probably finish down close to the narrows,” said Gooderham, the flight controller with NorthStar SailGP Team.

For Canadian racers like Gooderham, who’s from Halifax, sailing on home waters brings extra motivation.

“You can hear the roar of the crowd even over the noise of the boat and the noise of your com system … It’s really, really special to do it in front of, not only your own country, but also your friends and your family," he said.

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