Porto has landed one of sailing's biggest prizes: The Ocean Race, the round-the-world event often called the toughest test in team sport, will base its global headquarters in the Portuguese city and start three editions of the race there — in 2030, 2034 and 2038. A special racing event kicks things off in 2028.
The long-term deal links the city, Turismo de Portugal and the Porto e Norte tourism region, and runs through 2040. It gives the 53-year-old race a permanent Atlantic base and gives Porto a shot at becoming a serious hub for the offshore racing industry. The plan goes well beyond racing: an historic waterfront building on the beach in front of Porto City Park will be converted into the race's operational HQ, with public and educational activities starting from 2028. A second waterfront site will house a new museum dedicated to the ocean, the race's legends and Portugal's maritime heritage.
For travellers, the bigger picture is a country-wide programme. Beyond the Porto race starts, Portugal will host at least six more international sailing events — Ocean Race Europe editions — at other coastal locations over the next 13 years, plus Ocean Race Summits and ocean science and education programmes. The idea, according to Turismo de Portugal president Carlos Abade, is to anchor Portugal at the centre of the blue economy while pulling in investment, talent and sustainable tourism.
There's action sooner than 2028, too. The next edition of the race sets sail from Alicante on 17 January 2027, and it will pass through Portugal: leg four finishes in Cascais after starting in Florida, and Cascais also hosts the start of the final leg, which ends at Amaala on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. Lisbon, meanwhile, already knows the drill — it hosted stopovers in three consecutive editions in 2012, 2014 and 2017.
Portuguese sailors are understandably chuffed. Mariana Lobato, who co-skippered United by the Ocean to victory in The Ocean Race Atlantic earlier this year, said the deal gives the next generation the chance to watch the world's best teams up close and imagine racing at this level themselves. Porto's mayor, Pedro Duarte, framed it as a legacy project spanning science, education, tourism and ocean health rather than just a sporting event.
Why it matters for holidaymakers: if you've ever wanted to see an around-the-world racing fleet up close, Portugal is about to be the place — repeatedly, and for decades. Plan a trip around the 2027 Cascais stopovers, the 2028 special race, or time a Porto city break for the 2030 start. Between events, the new HQ and museum should give ocean lovers a reason to linger on the city's Atlantic edge year-round.
