F50 League LLC
10/27/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/27/2026 06:30
Tickets on sale: Why Hong Kong is a calendar game-changer
There are some cities that simply feel built for SailGP: towering skylines, packed waterfronts, stadium-style shorelines, racing at the heart of the action.
In 2027, the Rolex SailGP Championship heads to one of the biggest and boldest yet - Hong Kong, for which tickets are now on sale.
Long-viewed internally as a dream destination for the league, Hong Kong's arrival marks more than just another spectacular stop on the global calendar. For SailGP, it represents the beginning of a major strategic push into Asia.
"The big thing about Hong Kong is that it's part of our next five-year strategy and beyond to broaden our fan base in Asia," said SailGP Managing Director Andy Thompson. "This is the first part of doing that. It's certainly a gateway for us."
The event will take place in Kowloon Bay, placing SailGP's F50 fleet directly alongside one of the world's most recognizable urban backdrops.
"Similar to our New York race, we will be racing in the heart of one of the major cities in the world," Thompson said. "That is absolutely what we wanted to do when we set out with SailGP."
But iconic scenery alone is not enough. One of SailGP's founding principles has always been finding venues that enhance, rather than compromise, the racing product.
"We also wanted to do that without hindering the racing product and making sure we could race in a location that actually works for our style of racing," Thompson explained.
"The set-up will work really nicely for our racing, with that iconic backdrop there."
The Hong Kong Sail Grand Prix is expected to attract major crowds, media attention and commercial interest as SailGP expands its footprint in the region.
"We're expecting significant crowds, significant commercial interest and strong media interest, which opens up the sport of sailing much more broadly than it ever has before," Thompson said.
The Rolex SailGP Championship has previously featured both Chinese and Japanese teams, but Hong Kong signals a far broader long-term ambition across Asia.
"It's definitely part of our Asian expansion plans," Thompson said. "Japan is also a market we'd like to explore again in the future. Having races in other cities in China, like Shenzhen or Shanghai, would be really special for us.
"Korea is something we're looking at too. We've also been in talks about events in India and even a long-term team from India."
At the center of SailGP's ambitions is China itself, where the league sees huge long-term potential both commercially and competitively.
"We have a China strategy, and it's no secret that we want a team from China," Thompson said. "We're earmarking boat 16 to go to a Chinese team."
The growth of Chinese sailing talent in recent years has only strengthened that belief.
"If you look at Chinese sailing now, especially across the Olympic classes, it's a very strong field," Thompson said. "We see huge potential in the Chinese market."
Hong Kong's addition also helps complete SailGP's vision of becoming a truly global championship.
"I think it's something we've been missing for some time," Thompson said.
"We wanted to grow responsibly. I think we've done a really good job in these first five years of honing what our product is and getting our operations much slicker.
"That now allows us to move into this market with a really strong product that we know we can deliver."
Like Rome, Hong Kong joins the calendar on a multi-year agreement, with SailGP hoping it becomes a long-term pillar of the Championship.
"Absolutely, it can become a cornerstone event for SailGP," Thompson said.
And if the league's ambitions for Asia are realized, Hong Kong may prove to be far more than just another stop on the calendar: it could be the launchpad for SailGP's next era.
Get your tickets to the American Express Hong Kong Sail Grand Prix now!
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F50 League LLC published this content on October 27, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 27, 2026 at 12:31 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]