Sixth and penultimate stage of The Ocean Race, the round-the-world crewed race that will arrive in Genoa on 24 June. The boats set sail from Aarhus tomorrow (Thursday 8 June) en route to The Hague. Team Genova is also making a comeback with three Italian sailors on board. Cecilia Zorzi, already a protagonist in the first stage, was joined by Claudia Rossi and Andrea Pendibene.
Once again, the sporting event is not only an opportunity to promote Genoa internationally, but also a moment of celebration for the people of Genoa. Tomorrow, on World Oceans Day, the Porto Antico will host workshops and games dedicated to the sea. Appointment at 3 pm with the activities of the LAV Association (info at https://piccoleimpronte.lav.it/il-mare-la-loro-casa) which will continue until 6 pm. Meanwhile, at 4 pm on the big screen near Palazzo San Giorgio it will be possible to follow live the departure of the boats from Aarhus, Denmark’s second city and largest port. Closing the day’s festivities there is a special event in Piazzale Kennedy. From 6 pm, the people of Genoa will be able to enjoy a truly original DJ set aboard three hot air balloons that will be anchored to the ground. Free admission, from 6 to 9 pm, to enjoy the rhythm of the event promoted by Euphòria.
In the Genoa Pavilion, set up in the heart of the Aarhus Waterfront, three days of meetings and promotion events came to a close. Monday saw the staging of “Ocean Data Hour – Talk to a scientist”, meeting sponsored by ETT with the support of the Danish Meteorological Institute and Aarhus University. In the afternoon, the poetic-musical performance by Claudio Pozzani, poet and director of the international poetry festival “Parole Spalancate” (Words Wide Open), and Valeria Bruzzone, singer and composer.
Tuesday was “Culture and Tourism Day” with a series of meetings dedicated to promoting Genoa culture and promoting Liguria as a tourist destination in the presence of tour operators, travel agencies and the specialised press. The event, organised by the City of Genoa and Agenzia InLiguria, involved over 200 people including tour operators, sector journalists and institutional contacts. Gloria Piaggio, Director for Cultural Policies of the City of Genoa, gave the cultural presentation of the city, while Pietro Toso described the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli. Enrico Schelotto, Councillor for Tourism of the Municipality of Albissola, highlighted the twinning and relations with the Danish city of Silkeborg. The Italian Embassy, in the person of the Honorary Consul in Aarhus, Ib Larsen, and Danitacom, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Denmark, contributed decisively to the success of the meeting.
“Each presentation is calibrated ad hoc, depending on the market”, explains Marilisa Villanacci of Agenzia InLiguria. “Also in Aarhus we highlighted the factors that can be most attractive to this catchment area. The conformation of Liguria, which offers sea and mountains in close proximity, its villages, art, and food and wine have great appeal for the Danish market. Therefore, it could be interesting to consider enhanced communication and targeted promotion within the rich Danish market and open up new business opportunities for our operators”.
Finally, the traditional “Italian Day” took place today, organised in cooperation with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Denmark. In the morning, there was a presentation and promotion of the economic fabric in Genoa and Italy, with particular reference to excellence in the field of sustainability. Genoa was presented as an ideal place to live, work, study and do tourism. Representatives from numerous companies including ETT and STAM attended. The Chamber of Commerce of Genoa presented the international B2B event to be held in Genoa on 30 June 2023 at the Jean Nouvel Pavilion, organised together with the Enterprise Europe Network. Closing the events was the now traditional stage of the World Pesto Championship, which saw ten competitors at work with pestle and mortar in front of a crowd of onlookers who were then able to taste the Genoa speciality proposed by Roberto Panizza.