Fundació Navegació Oceànica Barcelona

The Expo was the hub of activity and festivities for this round the world race. This was a great natural meeting place for the public and the skippers. It was the place where sailors, sponsors, organisers, guests and sailing fans joined the general public in learning first hand about the Barcelona World Race, getting closer to offshore sailing and in discovering this adventure in which 28 skippers have been immersed since the 31st of December.

During the 20 days from the formal inauguration of the Expo on the 18th of December by Jordi Hereu and the closing of the Expo on the evening of the 6th of January, some 350,000 people visited the site. Many of these visitors sampled Barcelona's 14 best tapas served up by the city's most emblematic bars at the great bar, 15 metres long and 12 metres wide. Within the 4,500 sq m space, set up at the Pla de Miquel Tarradell 17 concerts were held. There were performances by Mishima, Los Traviesos, Jaime Anglada, Maria Rodés and The Tall Tutsies, whose performance was enjoyed by over 500 people.
Each of the 14 teams taking part in the regatta spoke of their experiences and their feelings ahead of this competition in the “Ocean Stars” section of the Expo. Seven Spanish books were presented across many different nautical themes. There were nine debates and discussions under the banner of “Offshore Sailing”. Two Spanish national radio programmes were also broadcast live from the Expo: “No es un día cualquiera” and “España Directo”. This all happened on the same stage where the skippers were officially presented on the 29th of December.

The younger Expo visitors enjoyed the leisure and cultural zones, with two pools with radio-controlled boats and catamarans on the water to demonstrate the effects of a heeling yacht. Computers and simulators were used by instructors who explained every last detail of the regatta, and a library with nautical texts was available for those wishing to find out more for themselves. For the very smallest Expo visitors there were daily performances from Captain Jaume Espàrrec as well as performances by the Club Súper 3 (from Catalan television) who delighted hundreds of children on the 2nd of January. On the eve of the Three Wise Kings festival (Spain's main Christmas celebrations) royal helpers received over a thousand letters for the Kings.

During the three weeks of the Expo activities relating to the Educational Programme also took place. 850 students from five schools visited the regatta operations centre, the fleet pontoon and the different stands in the Expo Youth Zone. Another 40 students, finalists selected from over 5,500 entrants in the “Live Ocean – Live Planet” competition also handed over their pictures to the skippers, joined by their families.