CLIPPER 2017-18 RACE START TO BE STREAMED LIVE TO GLOBAL AUDIENCE

Millions of people from over a hundred countries around the world will be able to tune into live television coverage and video streams carried by international media, in addition to the official Clipper Race web site and social media channels, when the eleventh edition of this biennial global endurance challenge gets underway from Liverpool this weekend, Sunday 20 August.

“The global media audience continues to grow as more people from around the world get behind these teams of incredible people who take on this enormous challenge,” said Clipper Race Head of Global Communications Julia Fry.

“The previous edition saw over 14,000 individual news items reach a unique global audience in excess of a billion people. The live coverage this weekend will not only capture the adrenaline fuelled atmosphere of race start but will also showcase Liverpool and its iconic Mersey waterfront to a global audience.”

Live video streams of the departure ceremonies will be carried on-line from 0800 BST local time (0700 GMT/UTC) covering the crews’ farewell ceremony on stage, manning their boats and departing their moorings in Albert Dock. This will be followed by the fleet entering the Mersey and conducting a parade of sail along the waterfront for the tens of thousands of spectators anticipated to line both sides of the river.

At 1200 Noon BST (1100 GMT/UTC) the on-line feed will feature a special one-hour live TV show which will also be beamed around the world to include the race start at 1230 BST local time including live helicopter footage of the yachts racing around a tight circuit in front of the crowds before heading out to sea towards Punta del Este in Uruguay, their next port of call in this year-long 40,000 nautical mile ocean race around the planet. It will capture the true Corinthian spirit of these ‘everyday’ people taking on this remarkable challenge.

The 1-hour TV show will be broadcast on a range of international TV channels and news websites worldwide including Fox Sports, Eleven Sports Network in the US and parts of Asia and Europe, and to the Nautical Channel’s global audience of 20 million people.

The live TV show and web streams are being produced by the Clipper Race Official Host Broadcaster, 1080 Media TV, voted ‘Best Online Broadcast Company 2017’ and producer of the award winning global documentary series ‘The Race of Their Lives’ which goes behind the scenes to follow Clipper Race crew as they participate in this unique global event. The previous series in 2015-16 was broadcast in 171 countries and reached 914 million households around the world.

“There is huge interest in the Clipper Race from international broadcasters and audiences on six continents,” said Cliff Webb, CEO at 1080 Media TV. “No other event takes everyday people and trains them to take on the world’s toughest oceans. It is a very compelling human story and the success of the 7-part TV series speaks for itself. In addition, a growing global online audience now complements traditional live television coverage, attracting substantial audiences.”

The live feed can be viewed on the Clipper Race website at: www.clipperroundtheworld.com/livestream or on the You Tube channel: www.youtube.com/clipperrtw ; it will also be on the Clipper Race Facebook Live channel.

Technical note: Feed optimised for Chrome, Edge and Safari browsers (recent versions from last 3 years). Firefox and Internet Explorer are not recommended. If you experience problems try the You Tube or Facebook feeds.

LIVE FEED SCHEDULE:

TIMES BST (GMT/UTC+1)

0810-0910 Opening Ceremony as each of the twelve teams take their turn on the stage before boarding their boats.

0915-0950 Each yacht casts off to transfer from Albert Dock into the Canning Half Dock

1015-1050 The fleet enters the River Mersey

1115-1200 The fleet performs a parade of sail along the Liverpool Mersey river front.

1230-1310 Race start followed by an initial course around marks/buoys in front of the Liverpool waterfront to complete a circuit before heading out to sea towards Uruguay.

1310-1330 Fleet races out of the River Mersey